Rancoeur du Coeur
by SonChan
Summary: He couldn't protect her, but he would avenge her. / Sokai Namixas / Rated M for language, violence and hints of lemon /
1. Forever and Never

Rancoeur du Coeur 

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, or any part of Disney or Square-Enix. Now if I did, I'd be stinkin' rich and I wouldn't be wasting my time writing this when I could write the real thing. I own the million of OC's you will be seeing inside this story and the story idea of course .

**Authors Note:** **(REVISED 9/8/10) **Hello, everyone! Welcome to Rancoeur du Coeur, my most mature and experimental story. Started in the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I've been on a writing hiatus for a while. Now, I am back and better than ever! (No seriously, I actually learned to format O_o) hahah, so I am currently retracing my steps and doing a much needed revamp of the first three chapters. My edits aren't perfect, but my eyes have spotted most of the errors.

**SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!**

I HIGHLY suggest that if you have not beaten the game at ALL, Do not read this story, lest you desire to spoil yourself. From this point on, spoilers will be mentioned in this note and story.

This story doesn't have TOO many spoilers from the game (Unless you count the part with Naminé and Roxas merging with Sora and Kairi.) But it does contain some, so please; don't say I didn't warn you.

You could say I am…testing myself in a sense. I've never truly written angst like I plan to write with this. It'll be quite different that my usual merry style. I guess I am just simply exploring human nature and human grief, by using these wonderful characters.

Here's a more _detailed _summary than what I have up…

**DETAILED SUMMARY:** To Sora, life was as perfect as it could be. He was engaged to Kairi, a well-respected Keyblade bearer, and just a happy go-lucky 21 year old. That was, until a new cult of fallen Keyblade wielders decided to eliminate the Princesses of Hearts. Helpless to save her, Sora vows to avenge Kairi's murder anyway he can, even if it means giving into darkness. And Roxas, who had lost Naminé when Kairi was killed, secedes from Sora to help him in his cause. But as they get closer to reaching their goal, Roxas starts to realize the consequences of what he and Sora intend to do. SK RN

**QUICK SUMMARY:** He couldn't protect her, but he would avenge her. SK RN

So on a final note, enjoy, be merry, and review!

* * *

**Chapter 1: **Forever and Never

He was holding forever in his hands.

Sora smiled softly at the diamond ring placed ever so eloquently in its velvet, black box. He was about to do the obvious, once Kairi had arrived. Until then, he just admired the thought of the ring on her delicate finger.

He was assured that she'd say yes. Sora couldn't think of any reason to go against that. Kairi and he had been dating for well over five years, ever since the two were sixteen. The first couple years had seemed to have been sparked by puppy love. Kairi and Sora were young, and still a bit shy with one another, despite their hearts strong connection. But as they grew older, affections deepened, and that is what brought Sora to this point in time.

As he continued to gaze at the ring, Sora knew that he loved her. Everything about Kairi made him smile. Her kindness and thoughtfulness towards others, her loyal dedication to her friends, her bravery in times of fear and hardship, and even her teasing didn't mind Sora. As far as he was concerned, it was just another thing to love about her.

"Can you direct me to the table for two, under the name _Sora?_"

Sora immediately snapped the box shut as his eyes adverted to Kairi at the entrance of the restaurant. Luckily, he was able to put the container away before a waiter escorted her to the table. His orbs enjoyed analyzing what they saw. Kairi was wearing a short, lavender dress adorned with a few pieces of jewelry. Sora stood once Kairi had finally reached her destination.

"Sorry I'm late!" she said with an apologetic grin.

Sora flashed a smile back. "Don't be," he said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're right on time," Sora stated with a grin. Kairi beamed at his effort to make her feel better about being late.

"This is a nice place," she commented as the two sat in their seats. Sora shrugged playfully.

"I guess," he said with a hidden smirk. Kairi rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. He had taken her to the nicest place on the island. It was very formal and _very _expensive. She wondered why Sora would take her here instead of their usual date places.

"Ready to order?"

Kairi entered back into reality as the waiter prepared his notebook. She blushed sheepishly. "Um, not exactly. You can go first Sora," Kairi stated examining the menu for what she wanted.

Sora let out a laugh. "Actually, I'm having the same predicament," he confessed. His eyes darted to a meal on the menu that looked intriguing. "Say, is that Pieds de Chameau any good?" Sora wondered, completely butchering the pronunciation of the dish.

"One of our most popular meals, sir," The waiter responded.

He was pensive for a moment, and then made up his mind. "Alright, I think I'll try it. I'm always up for something new," Sora said as he handed the menu back to the waiter.

"And for you Miss?"

"I think I'm just going to have the Caesar Salad tonight," Kairi replied.

"Very well, it should all be out shortly," The waiter said as he left the two lovers alone.

Sora smiled softly at Kairi, his eyes gazing about her features. Her face reddened a bit. "What are you doing Sora?" she asked with a chuckle.

"I don't know. I guess I'm…just thinking about how beautiful you look tonight," Sora commented with sincerity.

The redness stained her cheeks. Even after all this time, he still managed to make her blush. "You don't look so bad yourself," Kairi stated with admiration of Sora's exquisite form.

They had grown up so much these past years. It seemed like only yesterday they were drawing each other's faces on the walls of the Secret Place. Yet, they were no longer children. Sora was still same old Sora, but taller and more muscular. And Kairi was now a woman. Her hair extended down to her developed chest and her petite figure had sprouted a few inches.

The two had remained on Destiny Islands together after their many adventures with the keyblade. Heartless were still running rampant in other worlds, but nothing that Sora and his friends couldn't handle. Actually, for the past few years he hadn't traveled at all. King Mickey had wanted him to take a break and remain on Destiny Islands for a few years, maybe go to college, which he eventually did. Sora welcomed the break. It allowed him to spend more time with Kairi and get an education. Riku on the other hand was a different case. Riku had accepted a job as Bodyguard to the King. It was understandable; Riku could never remain in one place for long. And with this job he could travel and see other worlds. He came back to visit though, once in a while, along with the King, Donald, and Goofy.

Sora pitied that his relationship with Goofy and Donald diminished over the years. They used to be so close, but without having to travel together anymore; Sora rarely had a chance to see them. He was looking forward to their upcoming visit with Riku and the King the following week. Sora couldn't wait to tell them of his upcoming engagement. Of course though, he'd have to ask Kairi first. And he knew the perfect place to do it too.

"Say Kairi," he said leaning back in his chair. "After dinner, can you take a walk with me?" Sora asked.

"No Sora, I was planning on meeting my _other _boyfriend for a romantic moonlit stroll along the beach," Kairi responded chuckling.

But the Keybearer was not amused.

"Oh Sora…" Kairi said shaking her head. "I'm kidding, just kidding!"

Still, his face didn't change.

Kairi rolled her eyes as she let one of her hands entwine with his fingers. "You know you're the only guy I'd ever stroll along the beach with," she whispered smiling.

Sora's smile came back to him. "I know Kai, but I still have to be careful; so many guys want to be close with the lovely Kairi," he stated.

The princess grinned slyly. "We'll all their attempts will be in vain because you and Riku are the only guys I'll ever let close to me."

"Excuse me?"

Kairi was still smiling. "Don't worry; you're always the closer one."

"Monsieur and Mademoiselle, your dinner is ready." The waiter said bringing over their food.

"Great, I'm starving!" Sora said upon receiving his meal. "Thank you!" he commented to the waiter. Sora then proceeded to eat with great enthusiasm.

"I am guessing you like it," Kairi giggled watching her boyfriend consume the food.

"It's only natural," said the waiter, "camel's feet is one of our most renowned dishes."

Sora immediately stopped eating.

"Did you say…camel's feet?"

"Oui, monsieur."

Sora got up from the table. "I'll be back in just a second Kai..." he stated turning a tad green. Sora then dashed to the bathroom.

Kairi had a sympathetic look on her face but at the same time couldn't stop giggling.

* * *

**Meanwhile, elsewhere…**

Within the realm of a dark, seemingly untouched world, a malevolent scheme was in the making.

Inside the world's main castle known to the residents as the "Chateau Méchant", a meeting was taking place in the deepest part of the fortress.

Seven dark figures sat around a round table, all carefully listening to the apparent "head" of the meeting.

He appeared to be in his late 20's with deep auburn hair and striking green eyes. By appearance alone one could tell that there was nothing good within his being. He had a smirk on his face that never seemed to change. In fact, it never really did. The man spoke with an intense and captivating voice.

"My fellow brethren, you are all probably anxious to know just exactly why I've called you to my humble abode this evening so far away from all of your homes."

"You can say that again…"

The leader's smirk grew a tad larger. "I assure you, my reasons are just…for I have come to a solution for our unfortunate predicament concerning our inability to access what is rightfully ours," he said.

"You mean…?"

"Yes Fallon, I mean our keyblades," The leader stated.

Each of the other six men leaned in closely to hear what their leader had to say.

"Well, go on Avon!" Fallon exclaimed.

"In my research of our ancestors, I have come to learn that they were cast out from being able to wield their keyblades due to their thirst for power by the other wielders. In order to keep this ridiculous ban, the other wielders made a pact with the Princesses of Hearts of their time. The pact ensured that only those who were pure and just could wield the keyblade and as long as the Princesses were around, that pact could not be broken. Of course, we know our ancestors were anything but pure and just because like them, we are not fools. We see the power that is brought by the keyblade and we are not blinded by chivalry unlike the fools that currently hold the keyblade!" Avon, the head of the table, stated.

"What are you getting at exactly, Avon?" another man named Talon asked.

"What I am trying to explain is that the only reason we cannot obtain the keyblades is because the Princesses of Hearts still exist. Granted, they are different than the ones from our ancestors' time, but the pact was made so that as long as there are Princesses of Hearts around, the right of wielding will be denied to us," Avon said hoping that the others would catch on.

"So you're saying that if we eliminate the princesses…"

"…we finally receive what we so rightfully deserve," Avon answered, smirk intact.

Murmurs arose from the men as they eagerly chattered to one another about the sudden revelation.

"Shhh," Avon hushed them as he wished to speak to them once more. "I have discovered the whereabouts to one of the Princesses and I have already sent Vulcan to take care of her."

"And which one would this be?"

"Kairi, Princess of Hollow Bastion, who resides in Destiny Islands."

The men shifted uneasily. "Avon, isn't that the girl of that boy Sora?" Fallon questioned.

"The Keybearer? Yes it is. But the way I see it it's better to take care of her first otherwise Sora would be expecting her demise," Avon reasoned.

Fallon still looked uneasy.

"Relax Fallon, if the boy attempts to play hero again, I'll deal with him myself." Avon assured. He quickly changed his tone back to what it had been before. "But now, here is what I want to rest of you to do to finish carrying this out…"

* * *

**The Nobodies' World**

It had been a good six years since Sora and Kairi had merged with their nobodies. Roxas and Naminé were tossed into a Realm of Nobodies after this had happened and they had lived there ever since. [1]

Like Sora and Kairi, the two were in love.

And they had no trouble showing it.

The two were lying naked together in Roxas' bed, their only covering being his sheets. Naminé had her head rested on Roxas' muscular, bare chest. She closed her eyes and smiled as Roxas stroked her head. "That feels nice." Naminé said softly as she curled up even closer. Roxas beamed at her. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I don't think I let you know enough how beautiful you are," Roxas whispered.

Naminé looked up at him with playful eyes. "You think so?" she wondered aloud. She nuzzled his neck with her head. "You always make me feel beautiful. You don't need to tell me," she said.

Roxas smiled at her and closed his eyes in thought. Naminé was the most wonderful girl that he had ever known. Everything about her Roxas loved. Her kindness, her earnestness, her gorgeous…and did he mean _gorgeous _body that he got to ravish every evening, and most of all, the heart that she possessed, which oddly enough, wasn't even physically there.

"Going to bed?"

Roxas poke an eye open to Naminé's quizzical look. He yawned. "Nah, not if you want to stay up." Roxas stated. Naminé shook her head though.

"No, it's alright. I was getting sleepy myself," Naminé explained.

Roxas nodded and kissed her gently. "I love you," he whispered with the utmost sincerity.

Naminé smiled back at him. "I love you too," she said. Roxas then bent over and kissed her stomach.

"And I love you too, whatever you are..." Roxas stated smiling at Naminé. She grinned.

"What do you think it's going to be?"

"A girl," Roxas said beaming, "I'd like a little girl that looks just like her mommy."

"I'd like that, just as long as she's not called Naminé jr.!" Naminé giggled.

"No that won't do," he said wryly. Roxas looked into Naminé's eyes. "What would you want to call her?"

"Ayame, it means Iris."

"Ayame, huh?" Roxas repeated. He smiled. "I like that name," he stated.

Naminé's eyes twinkled. "Really?" she asked happily. She clasped her hands together. "Oh Roxas, that just made me so happy!"

Roxas gave Naminé one last kiss before saying goodnight. "You make me so happy," he murmured, "sweet dreams, Nam," he said.

"You too, Roxas"

Neither of them knew that this would be the last time they'd ever see the other again.

* * *

The moon was full and she smiled down upon the ocean. The lunar orb was a magnificent sight to be beheld. The waves danced upon the shore happily. The whole atmosphere of it all was exuberant.

Laughs could be heard as a sole couple made their way along the coast. They're hands were clasped together with no intention of release. Sora had taken Kairi over towards the Island where the Secret Place was. He thought it to be a perfect location to pop the question seeing the significance it held to both of them. It was also abandoned for the night, giving them the privacy they need. Sora fondly remembered the first time he saw Kairi's response to his drawing. He knew he loved her just as much then as he did now, even more so.

"So what is it Sora?"

"What is what?" Sora's attention snapped back to the pretty red head.

"The thing you wanted to tell me silly!" Kairi exclaimed.

The Keybearer let out a wry grin. "Not until we get to our spot."

Kairi rolled her eyes. It felt like forever before they reached The Secret Place. Sora would gently let his fingers trail along her spine, sending pleasurable tickling sensations Kairi's way. It was those little gestures that made Kairi realize Sora cared for her in a manner that no other man could match. Their innocence was rare for couples of their age group, yet, the two understood that they didn't need to be all over each other to show signs of affection.

Once they arrived in the cavern (that was starting to become quite small to the two), Kairi turned directly to face Sora. "Alright Sora, spill!" she demanded.

Sora smiled as he walked over to the drawings of the two of them. "Seems just like yesterday, doesn't it?" he asked her. Kairi walked over and leaned her head on the shoulder of her companion.

"It sure does."

"A lot has happened since then," Sora began, "we've been through a lot together, Kai. An awful lot…" he held her hand tightly. "And you know that there is nothing I wouldn't do for you," Sora said kissing her hands.

"I know Sora," Kairi spoke.

He brought the two to a tight embrace. "I love you Kairi, with everything I am. I don't know what I'd do without you," Sora whispered. He bent down on one knee and took out the box. He opened it to reveal the ring inside. "I've wanted to ask you this for a long time now but…"

Kairi's mouth grew agape.

"Will you marry me?" Sora asked with his signature grin.

A few tears began to slide down Kairi's cheeks. "Oh my gosh…" she whispered. She quickly smiled and yelled out, "Yes!" She threw herself down at Sora with her arms around his neck. "A million times yes…"

Sora laughed a bit. "I only needed to hear it once," he smiled. He took one of her hands and placed the ring on one of her delicate fingers.

Kairi looked at it lovingly. "Perfect," she whispered.

Sora smiled softly at her and leaned in to kiss her. Kairi kissed back and clung to him as their kisses intensified. Soon she was on the floor with Sora leaning over her.

"Oh, my dress…" she stated as she tried wiping some of the dust off.

"We can take of that," Sora whispered, inches away from undoing her lavender outfit. Kairi shook her head though.

"No Sora," she said, "not until we're married."

"Kai, please…" Sora begged with a need fixed in his eyes.

She caressed his face with her hand and smiled. Kairi had known Sora's patience was wearing thin when it came to how intimate the two were. And even though she desired the connection as much as he did, Kairi wanted to honor a desire to wait until marriage before engaging in anything sexual. "It'll just be so much better if we wait. I promise."

Sora closed his eyes as he placed his hand to the one she had placed on his cheek. "Alright, you win," he said getting up. Kairi got up as well.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Sora responded by placing his arm around her as the two began to leave. Kairi smiled softly as she felt his lips being placed on her forehead. She was lucky that Sora was such an understanding man about her wishes; most guys would be absolutely furious to be denied the carnal pleasures couples typically partake in. But then again, Sora wasn't like most guys...

Walking along the shoreline, Sora couldn't help but to smile. Kairi couldn't stop talking about wedding plans like what kind of dress she would wear, who would be invited, where they would go for the honeymoon.

"I think a spring wedding would be pretty," Kairi stated grinning. "What do you think?" she asked Sora.

"Well it would be nice but that's almost a whole other year away," Sora said, "do you want to wait that long?" he wondered.

"I'd be willing to," she said.

Sora stopped to hug her close. "Heh, I'm never going to make love to you am I?" he stated.

His new fiancee smiled. "Aw Sora, I know you can be patient."

The Keybearer scoffed slightly. "I don't want to though…" he answered in a childish tone.

Kairi beamed as she rubbed her nose against his. "You baby…" she whispered kissing him lightly.

Sora deepened the kiss, letting his tongue find its way into Kairi's mouth. And while sex may have been controversial, Kairi held no objections to making out. The hero could have the richest nectar in the world, and it wouldn't compare to the sweetness of the red head's lips upon his own. He held her close, trying to mesh their two bodies into one. The princess moaned happily as she was lost in a haze of delight. "Sora," she cooed affectionately.

"Well isn't that precious,"

Sora ceased his kisses on Kairi and turned around to see a dark clothed man appear seemingly out of nowhere. He held Kairi close, sensing a bad vibe out of the man. "Who are you?" Sora asked him.

A smirk formed on the man's face. "Ah well, it seems I've forgotten my manners," The man said doing a quick bow. "The name's Vulcan. It's an honor to be in the presence of not only a Princess of Heart, but the legendary keyblade bearer himself."

Sora glared at him. "What's your business here Vulcan?"

"Well you see, it pertains to the Princess. My employers have a certain need that only she can provide..." Vulcan said.

"You're not using me to open Kingdom Hearts!" Kairi shouted.

Vulcan chuckled a bit. "Oh no dear, we have hearts. They're not interested in that."

"Than what ARE they interested in?" Sora yelled growing impatient. Behind his back, his keyblade formed in his spare hand.

"I'm just going to put it layman's terms; I've come for the girl. Not to take her, but to kill her."

Fear was an obvious sight in Kairi's eyes. Sora growled at Vulcan. "Over my dead body!" he snapped.

"You know that can be arranged." Vulcan answered with a vicious grin. He took out a twisted looking weapon. "Anytime you're ready hero."

"Sora don't…" Kairi whispered. Something didn't seem right about the bludgeon.

Sora reassured her with a smile and a quick squeeze from his free hand. He then darted towards Vulcan, keyblade in hand.

"Stupid decision," Vulcan stated. Sora was about to strike him but Vulcan held up his weapon. It didn't even need to touch Sora for it to cause him to be suspended in the air. He was unable to move.

"Wh-what?" Sora whispered astounded.

"Say goodnight, kid," Vulcan said as he struck Sora with the same weapon, hurling him to the shoreline. A bloody wound soon formed atop of Sora's head. He was slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed. She had wanted to run over and help him, but she felt the ice cold weapon at her back, causing her to not be able to move. She breathed in and out sharply, with tears streaming down her face. "_This is it…isn't it?"_ she mused.

"Don't worry Princess," Vulcan whispered as he caressed her cheek, "it'll be over in a second."

Kairi was sobbing at this point. But the sobs soon ceased as she felt the weapon behind her release a sharp blade into her heart. She gasped as she fell to the ground. Kairi breathed heavily as her vision started to fade to black. The last thing she saw clearly was Sora's inanimate body lying on the sand.

"Sora…" she whispered. But to no avail, he couldn't answer. Kairi closed her eyes and ceased to inhale.

Vulcan got down and leaned over her to see if she was still alive. She wasn't. He looked at Sora and shook his head.

"Waste of your last breath princess," he muttered. Vulcan packed up his weapon and opened a portal that would lead him back to Avon and the others. He took one last look at the two before he went in and the portal disappeared.

Sora was on the verge of nothingness, but he still managed to form a few tears in his eyes.

"Kai…" he whispered.

And then everything went black.

* * *

You guys all knew it was coming, but still, I was saddened myself having to write it. Kairi is one of my favorite characters but by the end of this story, you'll see why I just had to do it. I also want to explain about the OC's. You guys are probably confused about who everyone is but I'll be addressing that in a few chapters so don't worry your precious heads over it.

After this, the story will be going up in rating and content. Thanks for all who read this first chapter and those who will be reviewing. Chapter 2 will be up when I can get it done! So thanks again!

Love,

SonChan

[1]: I promise you I hate these notes and never do them, but because I'm mentioning this idea that is explained in my other story Once We're Gone, I just wanted to give you guys a reference point

**REVISED: 9-7-10**


	2. The Breaking Point

Rancoeur du Coeur 

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, or any part of Disney or Square-Enix. I own the million of OC's you will be seeing inside this story and the story idea of course.

**Authors Note:** **(REVISED 9-11-10) Major edits with formatting and other things.**

I'm baaackk! ANYWAYS! I want to thank my reviewers. If you guys like this story, seriously let me know because I love getting feedback.

It'll be a slow process, but I will try to be diligent.

Just as another friendly warning, this story is rated mature for a reason; it will include some heavy swearing (which is something totally foreign for me) and I have yet to decide whether or not to throw in something a little promiscuous. And like I said in the last author's note, Sora will be OOC and this chapter is kind of his transformation point. It's a nice, long one though so it should be a treat for you guys :D

**DETAILED SUMMARY:** To Sora, life was as perfect as it could be. He was engaged to Kairi, a well-respected Keyblade bearer, and just a happy go-lucky 21 year old. That was, until a new cult of fallen Keyblade wielders decided to eliminate the Princesses of Hearts. Helpless to save her, Sora vows to avenge Kairi's murder anyway he can, even if it means giving into darkness. And Roxas, who had lost Naminé when Kairi was killed, secedes from Sora to help him in his cause. But as they get closer to reaching their goal, Roxas starts to realize the consequences of what he and Sora intend to do. SK RN

**QUICK SUMMARY:** He couldn't protect her, but he would avenge her. SK RN

* * *

**Chapter 2: **The Breaking Point

"_Sora! Let's take the raft and go, just the two of us!"_

"_Know what's funny? I looked everywhere for you, but you were with me this whole time."_

"_Kairi, even if we are apart, we're not alone anymore."_

"_**Take care of her…" **_

"_I'll come back to you! I promise!"_

"_I know you will!"_

"_**Is she that important to you?"**_

"_Yeah, more than anything…"_

"_This is real…"_

"_I'm back."_

"_You're home."_

"_**Take care of her…" **_

"_I love you, with everything I am."_

"_Kai…"_

"_**Take care of her…"**_

Oblivion was anything but peaceful. Memories rewound over and over again causing nothing but turmoil. He just had to escape it…he just had to…

"Sora?"

A voice…that wasn't a memory…

"Sora, please wake up,"

He heard it and he tried to follow it…

"Please,"

Sora's eyes fluttered slowly for a minute. He inhaled sharply as he came back to his senses. The light was coming back to him, and the darkness was being obliterated.

He observed his surroundings. Sora was in a hospital room, attached to several monitors and machines. His arms were punctured with needles providing medicine to him. But Sora's eyes soon found a familiar sight in the room. It was the person in which the voice belonged to; Riku.

Riku leaned in from the wall he was resting on. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God you're finally awake," Riku said quietly, with a slight tremble in his voice. Sora couldn't recall a time in where Riku sounded so remorseful.

"He-hey," Sora answered, trying to retain his vocal ability. He examined Riku again; he looked so sad. Sora was wondering why he was here.

"I thought you weren't coming until next week," He said softly.

"Sora, it _is _next week," Riku clarified, "you've been unconscious for seven days."

Sora closed his eyes for a moment and tried to recollect what had happen. "I'm having a blank," he confessed, "…why am I in here?"

Riku hesitated.

Sora sat up straight. "What's the matter?"

"You don't remember…anything?" Riku asked pained by what he knew of the situation.

Sora thought carefully. Slowly but surely, snippets of reminiscence came back to him. An image of a diamond placed on the finger of the woman he loved the most.

"Kairi," he whispered.

The very name made Riku shy away.

Sora looked up at Riku. "…where is she?" he asked with concern. "Is she ok?"

Tears glistened inside Riku's eyes. "…you don't recall, what happened to the both of you?"

Sora raised his hand to the throbbing bruise on his forehead. He cringed in pain. "I-I can't think of anything…" he confessed. Sora rubbed his temple in frustration. "She was with me," he said. "We were on a date that night and I…" Sora paused for a moment. "…I asked her to marry me," He raised his head to meet Riku's eyes. A small smile somehow formed. "She said yes," Sora whispered. Riku wasn't as jovial as his friend.

"Is that all?" Riku wondered.

The smile faded from Sora's mouth. "What's wrong Riku?" he asked. "Why aren't you telling me something?" Sora demanded to know.

Riku was silent.

"What aren't you telling me?" Sora pleaded with his friend.

Riku clenched a fist on one of his hands. "Please try to think Sora," he begged. "I-I can't…I can't say anything to you…" Riku said. "I want to but," tears were visible now, "it's too hard."

Sora only looked at his friend in confusion.

"What…what happened after she said yes?" Riku asked in vain, for he already knew the answer.

"I-I…" Sora struggled to think clearly. He remembered kissing her, laughing with her, and then…

"That man," he whispered.

Riku looked up in eagerness. "What man?"

Sora curled his fingers into the bed sheets. He recalled the dark man, but what was his name? "Valon? Falcon? Fulcan?" he was in his own little world trying to remember names. And then it hit him. "Vulcan…" Sora whispered.

And with saying that name, Sora recalled the atrocious event that occured the previous week.

His breathing sped up, almost hyperventilating. The heart monitors attached to Sora beeped, indicating his increasing heart rate. "No," Sora moaned. He began to shake his body in unease. His head shook back and forth. "No…" he repeated again.

Sora looked up at Riku with tears of his own brimming in his eyes. He shook his head once more. "Please," he begged. "Tell me it's not true…tell me she's not…"

"Dead?" Riku finished with a crack in his voice.

"She's not!" Sora yelled. The tears were flowing. "Damn it she's not dead…she can't be dead…" he continued to babble.

"Sora," Riku started to say but he was interrupted by Sora's shouts.

"SHE'S NOT DEAD RIKU!"

A hint of venom overtook Sora's tone. He was glaring at his friend and crying at the same time. His breaths grew hard and his sobs became louder. He was in the middle of a breakdown.

"K-Kairi…" Sora cried. "No…no," he tried to keep denying it over and over but it didn't change a thing.

She was still gone from him.

Riku was never the comforter; that was always Kairi's job. He wanted to be there for his friend though. He walked over towards him and was about to reach out to him.

"Don't!"

Riku's eyes widen as Sora looked up with a fierce gaze. His face softened for a moment though. "Please…" Sora pleaded. "I need to be…alone for a little while."

It had only been a minute, but Sora's eyes were already red. Riku regretfully nodded and turned to leave. He paused for a moment.

"…the funeral will most likely be tomorrow," he said. "We've been waiting for you to go on with it," Riku informed. He paused once more. "We all loved her Sora, and we're going to miss her," Riku finished softly before he finally stepped out.

Sora leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes.

_She was there…_

He opened them quickly to rid himself of her memory but it was no use.

_She was still there…_

He cried in anguish. His Kairi…his light was gone from his life. Sora's pain increased as he kept thinking about the situation. He'd never hold her again, he'd never laugh with her again, and he'd never kiss her again…

Sora would never _be_ with her again.

It tormented him to a point of no return.

And grief suddenly grew to anger.

With clenched teeth and fists, Sora arose from the bed he was on. He ripped away the chords and needles from his body. He didn't care about them. Why on Earth care about something so trivial?

Sora had never dealt with this type of anger before. When he and Riku were younger, Riku would always throw temper tantrums and beat his feelings into a wall. It sounded like a good plan to him. He reached the wall and punched his fist into it as hard as he could. It left his knuckles red but he didn't seem to mind. He did it again. Sora grunted this time. His knuckles were bleeding now. The pain in his fists grew, as did the pain in his heart. He didn't know what to do.

So he just kept hitting away…

Cry after cry after punch after punch, he continued the cycle for a while. A few minutes later, and both knuckles swollen and stained with crimson, he stopped. Sora gently placed a hand on the wall and began to weep like a baby. "Kairi…" he whispered her name again.

"My Kairi…"

Outside the room, Riku stood pained as he had been listening to his friend for the time he was left alone in the area. He cringed after every punch Sora threw into the wall, and after every wail that escaped his lips.

Sora began to slide to the ground. "No," he whispered into the wall. "Let it be me instead. Oh God let it be me who's dead, not her," Sora moaned.

"Kairi…" he whispered again. But he was sick of whispering.

"KAIRI!"

He wanted the world to hear his pain.

* * *

**Later**

For Sora's sake, Riku urged him to stay at his place for the night. Despite protesting the fact that he was "fine", Sora eventually gave in. He was a mess. His eyes were bloodshot and bruises had formed on his knuckles.

Sora remained quiet during the drive to Riku's place. He looked out the window, expressionless. Completely devoid of any emotion, Sora could have easily been mistaken for a Nobody. Riku frowned in concern for his friend. "I'm worried about you," he muttered.

"You shouldn't be,"

The icy tone in Sora's voice disturbed Riku. He had never known Sora to be capable of such a disdainful timbre. But then again, neither of them had to deal with a tragedy of this magnitude. Silence overtook the car once more; that is, until Sora surprisingly opened his mouth.

"So…who found us?" Sora asked with the same frosty tone, still gazing outside the window.

"Tidus and Wakka," Riku answered. "From what I understand, Selphie and Kairi were supposed to get together that next morning but when neither of you guys came back, Tidus and Wakka went looking for you all over the island," he continued.

Sora tried to imagine what that sight must have been like for his two friends.

"Needless to say, they were pretty shaken up about it," Riku stated, "Everyone was…Selphie is still in shambles…" he explained.

"When did you find out?" Sora wanted to know.

"Via Radiogram the day afterwards," Riku said softly. His eyes became pained again. "I think that was the hardest news I've ever received…" he whispered, "I rushed here with the King and Donald and Goofy as soon as I could," Riku continued to say.

"Where are they right now?"

"At the mayor's house, but they should be coming over to my place soon."

"How's the mayor taking it?"

"Kairi was only his foster daughter, but the two were close, as you know. He's a wreck as well. I doubt he'll be speaking at the funeral," Riku said.

"Will you be?"

"Speaking at her funeral?"

"Yeah," Sora confirmed.

Riku sighed. "I know I should," He whispered. "I just…don't know if I can handle it…" Riku confessed.

Sora remained silent.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Riku asked with genuine interest.

At first, Sora hesitated but then proceeded to ask his last question. "…is it open casket?"

"I believe so,"

The blue eyed man swallowed a choked sigh. Hearing about her death was hard enough, but actually seeing her lifeless was going to be torture.

"Hey Sora?"

The brunette turned his head towards Riku's directions. "Are you going to be ok for it?" Riku questioned.

Sora faced the window once more.

"I'll be fine,"

He lied straight threw his teeth.

* * *

**Riku's Home**

"Why can't we talk with him?"

"He doesn't want to talk to anyone!"

"B-but…Sora…"

"He needs some time alone. Kairi's death is harder on him than anyone else right now,"

Sora laid on the bed in one of Riku's spare bedrooms. He was partially paying attention to the conversation that was taking place outside of his room between Donald, Goofy and Riku. His old friends had wanted to come in and comfort him but Sora was simply not in the mood for conversation or comforting.

"I still think we should…"

"That's enough Donald," A new voice had entered the conversation. It belonged to King Mickey. His tone was not harsh, but wary. "If Sora doesn't want to talk then we should respect his decision," The King said.

Donald lowered his head in slight embarrassment. "You're right your majesty. I'm sorry."

"So what happened at the mayor's house your highness?" Riku asked Mickey in curiosity.

Mickey sighed. "Well, it wasn't the most pleasant atmosphere but we got details about tomorrow. The funeral will take place tomorrow morning around 10:00 and the burial will be right afterwards."

"No wake?" Riku questioned.

"I don't think anyone would be able to handle it," Mickey explained. "The mayor and the rest of the community feel it would be best to get it over with and not wait any longer. It's already been prolonged because of Sora's coma..." he continued. "Her casket will be open though during the funeral."

Riku sighed. "I hate this," he whispered. "Why the hell did she have to die?" he asked bitterly.

Mickey gave off a sympathetic smile. "When we keep asking ourselves _why _something happened, it only makes us bitter. It makes it easier for darkness to come in and take over." The king said. "Kairi's death is tragic, and I wish it could've been prevented but," he paused for a moment. "There's nothing we can do about it now."

"_It could have been prevented," _Sora thought to himself inside his room. "_I was too weak to save her…" _he mused.

_You were too weak…_

Sora turned over grunting. His inner conscious was eating him from the inside out.

_You failed her, Sora. You didn't deserve to protect her life. _

"Shut up…" he whispered.

_Now she's gone…all because of YOU…_

"I said shut up…" Sora snapped again to the nonexistent antagonist. It was tormenting him. Flashes of her death, the rare pieces Sora remembered, kept playing over and over again in his mind. Her sobbing, due to her fear, echoed in Sora's ears. The fact he couldn't respond as she uttered his name as her last breath. Torture in its highest form.

_Failure…_

"Stop,"

_Weakling…_

"Shut up,"

_If you had really loved her, you would have been able to save her…_

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCKING HELL UP!" Sora finally screamed.

Riku and the others ran into Sora's room. "Sora!" Goofy exclaimed flabbergasted.

"Are you alright?" Riku asked getting closer.

"No I'm not," Sora replied bitterly, "What a stupid question Riku," he continued. "I feel like shit!" Sora snapped.

Riku was taken aback by the unfamiliar behavior of his friend. Sora never, EVER swore a day in his life. He couldn't remember a time where he snapped like he did as well. Sora was losing it.

"Can I speak with you for a moment Sora?" King Mickey asked. "Alone?" he added.

"Whatever suits you…" Sora answered with distain.

Mickey looked towards his companions and they nodded in understanding and left the room. He had his own way of dealing with Sora's sorrow. The King frowned at the other man. "She was a wonderful girl," he began.

"The best," Sora muttered.

"She always thought of others before herself," The King continued giving compliments about Kairi. "I never heard a negative word come out of her mouth about anyone," he resumed. The King smiled. "She was brave, very brave."

"She always was," Sora mumbled with new tears forming.

"And she loved you dearly."

"I didn't deserve her love," Sora said looking away. "I failed her, your highness. I'm the reason she's dead," he continued with several tears flowing down his cheek.

"Sora, don't you _ever_ say that again!" the King commanded. "You know that it is not your fault! There was nothing more you could do than what was already done," Mickey stated.

"You weren't there…" Sora moaned. "If only you heard her sobbing. Oh God, I can't even imagine how she felt knowing that those were her last moments." He continued. He sniffled and wiped his tears. His eyes grew angry, as did his tone, "I swear I'm going to find that Vulcan and rip his fucking heart out with my bare hands."

"Sora, don't think about that right now…"

"It's ALL I _can _think about!" Sora shouted.

The king frowned. "…revenge only leads to more pain," He said.

Sora couldn't believe his ears. "Are you saying we should just let him _get away with it_?" he yelled.

"Of course not!" Mickey replied. "But if you think simply killing him will ease your pain, it won't," he continued. The King sighed. "If you rush into this with your emotions overtaking your mind, your chances of failing will be much higher than those of succeeding."

"He won't beat me this time. I'll stop him before he kills another Princess."

Mickey's large ears perked up. "Sora," he began in a grave tone, "What do you _mean _other princesses?" The king questioned.

"Vulcan said that he was hired by some people that want to kill off the Princesses of Heart," Sora answered.

Upset was visible on the King's face. "This is more than just…a random murder incident?" he wondered. Mickey looked Sora square in the eyes. "Sora, I need you to tell me everything he said."

Sora had an expression of pain on his visage.

"Please," the king pleaded. "I know it is hard but this isn't just about Kairi anymore."

Sora took a breath. "I remember him saying how they weren't interested in capturing the Princesses to reopen Kingdom Hearts," he began, "He said that he was just ordered to kill them."

The King's face was filled with anxiety. "This isn't good…" he began, "Not good at all." He continued shaking his head. He fixed his gaze at Sora.

"I…" he sighed, "I shouldn't be asking this of you," Mickey said, "especially at this awful moment in time," The King went on. "I need a favor of you after the funeral tomorrow."

The Keyblade Master raised an eyebrow. "…what did you have in mind?"

"I have no doubt that you will want to find Vulcan as soon as you possibly can. But while you are at it, I ask that you see to it that the other Princesses of Heart are being kept safe," King Mickey informed.

Sora's face grew dismal. "Why can't you have Riku go instead?" he asked with bitterness. He could not seem to grasp the reason the King was asking him this. "Why do you want to delay my revenge against Vulcan?" Sora inquired through his teeth.

King Mickey glared. "You are grieving right now; I know this isn't the real you," he responded. "So I'll simply forget that selfish comment," The King replied in a stern tone. "I already shared with you my views on revenge. And it seems as if that wicked emotion has already clouded your thinking. How did you think you were going to _find _Vulcan exactly?" Mickey asked.

Sora was at a loss for words.

"I thought as much," The King continued. "Don't you see that he will most likely try to strike another Princess as soon as he can? If you're _already_ there, it saves you the trouble of chasing him and at the same time you will be able to protect those girls!"

Sora continued to remain silent.

Mickey's face lightened up. "I'm sorry it's like this Sora," he said to the younger man. "If there ever was a moment I wished I could go back in time, then it's now," The King stated. "The harsh reality is…we simply can't," Mickey put quite bluntly. "It is our duty to ensure that the same tragedy will not meet another princess. I can't ask this of anyone but you. Vulcan, and more importantly his employers, must be stopped; that I have no argument against," The King explained. "But we need to find out their motives for all of this. It can't just be a get in and get out situation." He focused intensely on Sora. "I'm worried about you. You're a strong man Sora, but I have doubts on how you will handle this."

Sora finally found his words. "…I'm ok." He whispered. "I can do this the way you want me to." Sora said to the King. But he had a different meaning to his words. His intentions were to simply commit murder in cold blood. After all, that was what they did to Kairi. Darkness was clouding the light in Sora's thoughts.

And King Mickey, ever the wise mouse that he was, somehow detected in Sora's voice that he was spewing lies. But deep down inside his heart, he hoped that after a few days passing, the hurt would diminish, along with desire for revenge. He decided to not press the matter once more, and prayed his gut feeling would be true. But if Sora were to take a turn for the worse, he did not want anyone to witness his change. "I will leave you to do this alone," King Mickey said to Sora.

"…without Donald or Goofy?"

"Like I said before, you're a strong man. I believe you can handle this," Mickey stated. It was more of a hope than a belief. He cleared his throat. "I would go to Hollow Bastion as your first stop. I'll send a heads up to Leon and the rest of them about what's been going on…" The King suggested, "Aurora needs to be kept safe from harm. Once she's completely secure, continue onwards to the others. I will be researching this as much as I can, along with anyone else who is willing to help. We'll be in contact with you throughout the mission. If you feel like you absolutely need assistance, do not hesitate in asking for it," Mickey said. "But just make sure the princesses are kept out of harm's way."

"What if some are already dead?" Sora asked, adding grimness to the already grim situation.

Mickey sighed. "We'll just hope for the best," Sora lowered his head, nodding slightly.

A glance of sympathy crossed the King's face. "I know you feel alone," Mickey said. "You'll feel like this for a while unfortunately. But just always remember she's still here. She'll always be with us in our hearts," He explained.

Sora looked at him with emotionless eyes. "Your highness," he began, "I-I can't…I mean I don't…" he sighed. Sora didn't feel Kairi at all. He saw her in his mind, yes. Her presence haunted him. But Sora could not feel the warmth experienced when around her. The joy she brought into his life and the lives of others. He truly felt as if Kairi's impact on him was gone.

"…never mind."

King Mickey started to turn around. "I think you need some alone time again," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow Sora and we can then finalize the plan," King Mickey continued. But before he opened the door, he turned to Sora once more.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Revenge of the heart…is the most fatal kind of **retribution**," The King's last words were to Sora before leaving. "Just remember that…" he added in a cautious tone. King Mickey finally went out the door and closed it behind him.

Sora once more fell back on his bed in despair.

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_ he wondered.

His heart continued to ache. The darkness now subsiding in there was painful, but at the same time it made up for the hollowness. The emptiness of his heart that used to belong her…

Sora groaned. "Damn it," he whispered. "Why can't I stop thinking about this?" Sora's eyes once again started to brim with tears. He quickly rid himself of them though. "No," he muttered curtly.

"_I always thought you looked cute when you cried,"_

His subconscious was now taking the voice of Kairi; tormenting him even further. "Exactly why I refuse to do it anymore," Sora whispered to his own imaginings. "It reminds me too much of her..." he continued. This newfound coldness was already seeping into his mind, heart, and even his soul.

"I refuse to cry over something I can't change."

A bold and brash statement, but it held within it its own truths. There was nothing Sora _could _do to bring his Kairi back.

_Where are you?_

Sora raised his head a little. This new voice of his subconscious was not of Kairi or himself. It sounded familiar though…

_Naminé! Naminé!_

The voice was panicked. Sora started to remember exactly who the voice belonged to. He heard it weeping.

_God Naminé, where are you? Why did you go?_

"Roxas…" it was barely a whisper, but Sora spoke his name.

_Who's there?_

Sora started to feel a little more unnerving than he already did. "What the heck," he still maintained a soft volume level.

_Whoever is there, announce yourself because I am in NO mood for games!_

Sora was stunned. "_How can he hear me?" _he thought to himself. Never before had Sora had an encounter with his other half. At least, not since they became one. He tried to communicate with Roxas.

"Roxas? Is it really you?"

_Roxas was stunned. He was in his own other world searching the area for Naminé, who had been gone for over a week. "Who wants to know?" he asked._

"God you sound older," Sora stated.

_Roxas thought to himself for a moment. The other voice sounded just like someone he knew. "…Sora?" he muttered._

"That's my name," Sora responded almost with irritation.

"_How is this possible?" Roxas asked him. "After all this time, we've never had a chance to speak to each other like this."_

Sora lowered his head slightly. "I know," he muttered to his counterpart's invisible voice. "I'm not exactly sure…" he answered truthfully.

"_It's just as well I suppose," Roxas commented. He let out a sigh. "I seem to be experiencing a bit of a predicament here." _

Sora snorted. "You're not the only one…" he muttered, not intending anyone to actually here it.

"_Hmm?"_

"Nothing," Sora replied. He sighed. The idea that Naminé's disappearance was inadvertently caused by Kairi's death crept into Sora's mind. It dawned on him instantly and painfully. "_Shit…" _Sora thought to himself. Sora didn't know how to begin his next statement, for he already knew what was plaguing Roxas. "So," he began, "…you sound a bit distressed," he decided to play the naïve card, to spare Roxas a few seconds of pain.

_Roxas frowned. "I-I…can't find Naminé anywhere," he told his counterpart. "It's been over a week since she's been gone," The blonde continued. "I just woke up to find her gone and I have no idea where she is. I'm starting to get worried."_

A frown also appeared on Sora's face. He took a deep breath. "R-Roxas?"

"_Yeah?"_

"I think…that…well, I know that…"

"_What?"_

Sora sighed yet again. He was testing his own vow he made moments ago by holding in his tears. Sora decided to be brave for a moment. "Roxas, I-I don't know how to say this but," he drew in another sharp breath.

"K-Kairi is dead," Sora said bitterly.

_Roxas' heart plummeted in sympathy for his counterpart. "Oh Sora," he stated, "I'm sorry…" Roxas whispered. He felt very compelled towards him._

The tears were getting harder to hold in. Roxas had obviously not caught on. Sora hesitated in going on further, but he knew he had to. "I appreciate your sympathy," Sora commented, "…but Kairi's death affects you to." He hoped that this time Roxas caught on to his meaning.

He did.

_Roxas felt dizzy as he took in Sora's words. By Kairi ceasing to exist, that would cause Naminé to not exist anymore as well. He started to breathe heavily as the idea made sense to him. The same pain Sora was experiencing earlier started to occur in Roxas._

"…_n-no…"_

Sora frowned as he heard the remorseful sounding voice of Roxas. He knew the anguish that Roxas was feeling at that moment.

"_Naminé…" Roxas breathed. He felt tears proceeding down both of his cheeks. They were hot and unwanted. "No, not Naminé…not my…" Roxas' words soon turned to small sobs._

It was almost unbearable having to hear the same suffering twice in one day. Sora tried to ignore Roxas' weeping, but he failed.

_More tears fell as Roxas continued to cry in despair. "H-how could this have happened?" he wondered aloud. "Why is this happening…?" _

Sora held back his own trembling voice to try to give Roxas a straight answer. "Kairi was murdered," he said softly in an emotionless tone. "A week ago we were attacked by someone seeking to kill the Princesses of Hearts. I have been in a coma since then and Kairi…" he paused, "…she died right after I was struck down."

_Roxas' tears became silent. His lost was indeed great, but the kind of torment Sora had to have been through must have been a hundred times more difficult. "…I-I am sorry for your loss."_

"As I am yours…"

_Roxas quickly wiped his eyes. "Do you have any idea of who exactly orchestrated all of this?" he asked._

"Yes," Sora replied. "I was informed only briefly by the man. He said his name was Vulcan and that he was working on behalf of his employers," he explained. "They apparently have some beef with the Princesses' and pretty much want to murder them all," Sora continued.

"_So," Roxas decided to speak up, "…what's being done about it?" he questioned._

"I plan to find Vulcan, rip his heart out slowly with my keyblade, then proceed to kill the other fuckers behind this operation and prevent them from hurting anyone else."

_Roxas felt uncomfortable with Sora's newly acquired language. He had always known his counterpart to be the epitome of light; pure in every aspect. But then again, he supposed tragedy made even the most wholesome of people tainted by darkness. Roxas, however, still felt a bit unnerved, as it was he who was perceived to be the darker side of Sora. He was, after all, his nobody. _

_Sure enough, Roxas' own thoughts of revenge crept into his mind as he continued to think about the matter more and more. He wanted to be able to aid Sora in his cause._

"_Sora?" Roxas queried._

"Yeah?"

"…_might I…be able to help?" Roxas asked. _

Sora lifted his brow in uncertainty. "Are you serious?" he questioned.

"_I am…"_

He had planned to do it alone. After all, that was what the King wanted. But he could see no harm in allowing Roxas, who had the same agenda and drive for the task, to come. He decided to speak up.

"I have no objection to it," Sora stated. "However," Sora put emphasis on his last phrase, "_I _have no idea how we might separate from each other."

_Roxas groaned. "You're right," he said. _

Sora remained pensive. He really could need Roxas' help if the situation was similar to his previous encounter with Vulcan. An idea came to him.

"Roxas," he started out. "…how exactly did we become one again?"

_The question made Roxas think. "In all honesty, I'm not too sure," he replied. He continued to ponder the situation. "I guess I just knew you needed me in order to restore your memories and wake up…"_

"But it's possible that since I have my memories and I am indeed awaken from that sleep that we can exist together?"

"_I suppose…" Roxas was getting a little puzzled by Sora's idea. _

"I need you to think," Sora began to say, "I need you to think that you need to be out here, like how you used to think you needed to be part of myself to make me whole."

"…_do you think that'll really work?"_

"I have no other ideas on how we are to do it, so let's just go for it," Sora suggested. "Who knows? It's not like you've never tried before. You've never had a need to," he continued. "I'll think of us separated as well," Sora added. "Maybe that'll help…"

"_Alright…" Roxas agreed to the idea, despite his own doubts about it. Alas, there were no other amicable suggestions to compete with it. Roxas closed his eyes and tried to remember the place. It was times like these where he wished he had a pair of ruby shoes that he could instantly click and he could appear. But he wasn't in Oz; he was in the realm of the nobodies._

_To escape it, he had to think like a __**somebody**__._

_Someone who __**existed.**_

Sora closed his eyes and was attempting in envision the same thing as Roxas. "C'mon," he pleaded to an unknown adversary. "I've been disappointed enough times today to last me a lifetime. Don't let another one occur…"

"_Naminé," Roxas breathed. He tried to think about when he first met her and how he __**existed **__at that point in time. "C'mon…" he begged in his mind. "I-I need this. I need to honor her memory by getting justice…"_

"I need to honor Kairi's memory by giving those pieces of shit what they deserve…" Sora thought. "I can't do that on my own," he continued to think.

"_Please, let me exist…"_

"Let him exist…"

"_Please/_Please…"

Sora opened one of his eyes to see if his farfetched plan had work. Much to his satisfaction, it had. Roxas was standing right next to the bed Sora was on. He let out a small smile towards his counterpart. "So," Sora began, "I guess what they say about visualizing success is true," his mouth formed a smirk.

Roxas, despite the atmosphere of anger, had to let out a small chuckle. "I guess it is," he said.

Sora stood up and examined his other. Like himself, Roxas had become taller and more muscular over the year. Also like Sora, he kept his same hairstyle intact. There was however, another difference Sora couldn't put his finger on. It seemed as if a different aura surrounded Roxas. He couldn't tell if it was because of the situation at hand or if Roxas had really changed over the time he spent in the realm of nobodies.

He extended his hand towards Roxas, with the smirk still on his face. "Welcome to existence," Sora said in an indifferent, but yet a non dismal timbre.

Roxas took it as he gazed upon the man he was forced to be part of. He spoke earlier of Sora being the "light" of the two and now was wondering if the term would still apply. The aura of difference Sora felt around Roxas, Roxas felt just the opposite of Sora. He decided to think about the matter at a later date. "It's nice to be back," Roxas replied.

Sora broke the handshake and raised his voice towards the other room, "Hey Riku!"

Riku came quickly, expecting Sora to be in some sort of disarray again but that's not what he found.

"Yeah Sor-?" Riku opened to door to see Roxas in the room along with Sora. His mouth was agape. "How on…what…how did…" Riku wanted to ask a million questions at once, but didn't. "You know, I think it's best that I _don't _ask any questions at this point."

"You remember Roxas, right?" Sora kidded in the same un-Sora-like tone he had developed. "He'll need one of your other rooms for the night," he continued.

"I think I can handle that," Riku said. He motioned for Roxas to follow him. "I'll take you there," he told him.

Roxas shot a glance at Sora, but before he could speak; Sora interrupted him. "We can talk more about this tomorrow," he said.

His counterpart nodded. "That's fine by me," he agreed. Roxas started to walk in Riku's direction but turned around once more, "Well…goodnight," The Nobody told Sora as he left.

Riku shot his friend one more unsettling glance. "Is…everything…ok?" he questioned with caution.

Sora returned to his original position on the bed. "Yeah," he answered. "I think things are going to be _just _fine," He continued.

_After the funeral tomorrow, Roxas and I are going to ensure this doesn't happen again. _

_What could be better than that?_

One thought actually came to mind, and that was the idea of Kairi being back. There was no point in continuing that thought, because it was hopeless.

She wasn't coming back.

Sora sighed. His light was diminishing as these dark thoughts entered his mind.

Roxas may have been welcomed back into existence, but Sora was slowly fading back into Oblivion. And like before…

Oblivion was anything **but **peaceful.

* * *

Emotion: (ĭ-mō'shən) n.

A mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling:

This chapter kind of tested my knowledge of emotions and their affect on us. You saw Sora go from his happy-go-lucky demeanor into a sad and grieving man, and now on his way to becoming cold and, dare I say, heartless. His diverse use of vocabulary in this chapter was, what I believe, a good way to showcase his new persona. I normally avoid those words, but as I have just stated I feel that a change in my style will exhibit the change in these characters. If anyone has a problem with this for it seems far to OOC for their liking, I apologize; but it is crucial to my plot for it to be this way.

The wisdom of King Mickey will continue to echo through this story. You'll see what I mean in good time.

It's only the beginning to the wild and unpredictable ride of Sora and Roxas. I hope you guys will want to jump on and see what's coming up, because I promise you; the only way out of here is up.

**Next Chapter: **After Kairi's funeral, our dynamic duo begin their quest for vengeance, but that will prove to be a tougher task than expected.

Many thanks to my reviewers; your words of encouragement keep this story alive. You all know who you are.

Love,

SonChan

**(REVISED 9-11-10) Major edits with formatting and other things.**


	3. The Art of Losing Yourself

Rancoeur du Coeur

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, or any part of Disney or Square-Enix. I own the million of OC's you will be seeing inside this story and the story idea.

**Authors Note: (Revised 9/17/10) **

Well, not too much to say other than I've been pretty inspired with this story. I kind of promised a OWG update to several people but since I am trying to make that a lengthy update, I decided to continue on with this piece since I received an epiphany in the middle of the night with it. So here is another chapter for you guys who enjoy it! If you like it, don't forget to leave a review and let me know:D

This chapter will be interesting as we see Sora and Roxas get ready for their mission, and as we further see Sora dive into darkness.

**DETAILED SUMMARY:** To Sora, life was as perfect as it could be. He was engaged to Kairi, a well-respected Keyblade bearer, and just a happy go-lucky 21 year old. That was, until a new cult of fallen Keyblade wielders decided to eliminate the Princesses of Hearts. Helpless to save her, Sora vows to avenge Kairi's murder anyway he can, even if it means giving into darkness. And Roxas, who had lost Naminé when Kairi was killed, secedes from Sora to help him in his cause. But as they get closer to reaching their goal, Roxas starts to realize the consequences of what he and Sora intend to do. SK RN

**QUICK SUMMARY:** He couldn't protect her, but he would avenge her. SK RN

* * *

**Chapter 3: **The Art of Losing Yourself

Grief is a form of art.

A feeling that evokes more than one emotion to the performer, grief is expressed through various ways. Some choose to hold in their grief, by taking the feeling of bravery. Others let the feeling be expressed with sorrow, anger, or frustration. And then there are those who act on the emotion; and these are most commonly known as those who acquire a taste for the sentiment of vengeance. But whatever the emotion chosen, it is for certain that grief can be admired like a painting, a dance, or a statue.

Any outsider would view the grief in Destiny Islands as such beauty. Indeed, the piece of art would be considered sad and tragic, but also disturbingly beautiful in the aspect of how a community could be affected by one person. That one person being Kairi, whose funeral in the morning caused those in the night some restlessness. But none more than one spiky haired man in particular…

Sora had fallen in and out of sleeping throughout the night. His mind wouldn't let him forget the atrocious event that had befallen him the previous week. The more the blue eyed hero thought about it, the more pain it caused him. But he couldn't stop…

He kept hearing her laughter in his ears. His mind kept replaying images of her in her finest hours, looking like a goddess every time. Sora frowned as he was starting to accept that Kairi would only exist in his memories. And he knew very well that after a while, memories tended to fade.

As he continued to stare up at the ceiling, Sora contemplated what was going to happen that day. The funeral and all its gloom would indeed take up the majority of it. Afterwards, Sora and Roxas would start their mission to protect the princesses. More importantly, to find out who was behind this evil conspiracy.

Vulcan was about to face his maker; with Sora's help. Although the plan seemed simple, there was still much to worry about. The weapon Vulcan wielded was cruel and powerful. In order to be able to defeat him, Sora would have to learn exactly how to fight his way around the bludgeon.

"_I'll find a way," _he thought, _"there has to be one."_

He hoped his thoughts would prove to be correct.

Interrupted by a knock, Sora glanced over to the door, ceasing his thoughts for the moment.

"Can I come in Sora?" It was Riku. He was dressed up in the tux he planned to wear for the funeral.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

Riku entered to see Sora still lying on his bed, gazing upwards. "Were you able to sleep at all?" he questioned, taking note of the dark circles under Sora's eyes.

His friend shook his head. "Nah, not really," he said, "there was just too much on my mind…" Sora answered.

Riku nodded understandingly. "I can imagine," he replied to his friend, taking a seat at the edge of the bed.

Sora sat up and looked at the piercing blue eyes of his comrade. He began to speak in a soft voice, "…I guess I just still think that this is already some sort of nightmare and that I'll be waking up soon, hopefully."

"I wish it were true," the silver haired man answered. "It's been a week and the news still seems surreal," Riku muttered, "the pain still feels surreal…"

His friend sighed. "It fucking hurts Riku."

Riku frowned at the comment. "Sora, I know you're grieving but," he tried to think of the right words to say, "…I hope that you don't lose the light in you because of this."

Sora let out a laugh. It sounded pained and bitter. "Oh God," he chuckled sadly, "does my newfound vocabulary _offend _you, Riku?" he asked with an icy tone.

Riku felt a shiver go up his spine.

"I'm changing inside, and it's quite possible that it's for the worst," Sora stated.

"You know you don't have to give into darkness…"

"Riku, Kairi _was _my light. She's _dead. _My light is **dead**," Sora continued. "There's no way to revive Kairi and that means I can't get that light back that all of you saw in me. It's not there anymore. It won't be coming back."

Riku stared solemnly at Sora. "Is that a promise?"

"I'd rather think of it as a certainty."

"You know you are fully capable of controlling your own destiny," Riku answered.

The Keybearer snorted. "The hell that I am," he began, "I couldn't control what happened to _her._"

Riku sighed. He felt compelled to argue but not today. Not on this day.

"Listen, let's just change the subject." He suggested. "It's 9:00 now and the funeral begins in an hour. We should get going as quickly as possible," Riku commented getting up and getting ready to leave. He gave his friend one last glance. "And please," he started to beg, "…don't be this way when we're there. She wouldn't have liked that…" Riku whispered as he closed the door behind him.

Sora let out a small scoff. "Whatever…" he murmured rising from the bed. He went over to his bag of clothes the hospital had recovered for him. The tuxedo he wore on the night Kairi died was not necessarily in mint condition; the fabric was torn in several places where Vulcan had struck him. Sora shook his head in disgust. "Now what am I going to wear?" he asked himself aloud. He sighed and decided to go find Riku and see if he had anything.

Down the hall of the house, Sora found Riku and the rest of his friends who spent the night in the kitchen. They were grabbing a quick bite to eat before leaving. Most of them were already ready, save one blonde haired companion.

"I would've gotten up earlier if you all needed me to," Sora said to them.

"You needed your sleep," Donald said.

"Yeah," Goofy continued. "We still have a while to spare. There's no rush," he stated.

Sora gave a quick nod to his old partners. "I'm glad to see you guys, even in these circumstances," he replied. The two beamed at him. Sora turned and glanced at Riku. "My tux was damaged last week," he informed. "Do you have anything else I could wear?"

"The same goes for me," Roxas added in. He smiled sheepishly. "I didn't necessarily have the time to go and pack," the blonde continued.

Riku frowned. "Even if my clothes were your size, I'm afraid I don't have anything you two could wear that's really meant for a funeral," he confessed.

"Well I'm screwed," Sora muttered upset at the situation.

"It shouldn't be that big of a deal to them, Sora," Riku stated. "I sure they would under-"

"It's disrespectful," The Keybearer interrupted looking solemn. "She deserves the utmost respect," he whispered.

Riku frowned yet again, knowing that the situation bothered Sora more than he originally thought. Noticing the upset the state of affairs had caused, King Mickey decided to address it with a solution he seemed to already have.

"Ahem," King Mickey spoke up, "I hope you don't mind Sora and Roxas, but I took the liberty of arranging for two outfits for you," he said taking out a box. "It came just a few minutes ago."

Upon receiving it, Roxas had a puzzled expression on his face. "…uh, they're not necessarily formal." He stated as he took the two outfits out.

"But they're black," Sora pointed out.

Both outfits consisted of dark combat suits that resembled that of Leon's from when Sora first met him. They came with two separate black jackets. One happened to be a full length jacket while the other one ended at the chest.

Still confused, Roxas question, "So…what are they exactly for? I somehow doubt they're for the funeral."

"You're correct Roxas," the King stated, "they're for you mission afterwards," he clarified. "Sora, I'm sure you haven't forgotten that your last suit allowed you to do drive forms with Donald and Goofy."

"…yeah, but what does that have to do with-"

"I'm getting there!" Mickey insisted. "With these outfits, you won't need to have Donald or Goofy around to activate the drive forms that come with it. Think of it as an upgrade to your old suit," he said.

Roxas raised an eye at the jacket. "Are the jackets necessary though? It'll make me look like a spy or something…" he commented.

"They're not normal jackets," Mickey told him. He took the fabric and attempted to tear it with no such luck. "It's a lightweight armor made with a non shred fabric," he explained, "it would take a lot to cause a rip in it," The King continued.

Riku let out a chuckle. "You certainly have a lot of time on your hand to order such detailed suits."

King Mickey grinned. "What can I say? I'm a mouse of many connections," he stated. "Workers at the castle have been working on several prototypes for the suits whenever Sora was needed to come back into action. And I simply requested that they send us two of them."

"So wait," Sora interrupted, "they're not finished yet?"

"I never said that…"

"But you just said that they're prototypes," Sora pointed out.

"Sora, I wouldn't worry about it too much," The King said. "If you run into any problems with them, simply contact us and we'll see to it that it's fixed."

Sora sighed. "If you insist," he commented.

Roxas grinned. "Dibs on the half jacket!" he exclaimed seizing it from the box. He smiled at Sora like a child. "You can be the one who looks like Shaft." Roxas told him.

Obviously not amused by the comment, Sora took the long jacket and his suit and went into the other room to change. He muttered a "Hmm," before leaving.

"Not really the best thing to say to the guy," Riku said.

Roxas shrugged. "Eh, I thought I'd take a jab at cheering him up," he admitted. A frown appeared on his face. "But I guess he isn't as light hearted as before," the Nobody stated.

"Can you blame him?" Riku questioned.

"No," Roxas said. He had a sorrowful look on his face. "I know where he's coming from…" Roxas continued. An image of Naminé crossed his mind. He shook his head to try and rid himself of it. Thinking of her was too painful for him.

"Are you ok?"

Roxas snapped back to reality. "…yeah, I'm good," he said. The blonde grabbed the rest of his outfit. "I'm going to go change in the other room," Roxas stated as he left.

"He's hurting in a different way," King Mickey said.

"What do you mean?" Riku asked.

"Roxas lost Naminé just like Sora has lost Kairi, but Roxas is trying to not think about it whereas Sora is dwelling on the memories of Kairi."

"When you don't think about painful memories, it makes the hurt diminish a little," Goofy added into the conversation.

"But would you really want to forget the person completely?" Donald wondered in response.

King Mickey sighed. "Everyone handles grief differently, so it's hard to say which method works the best," he said. "I think both of them will need to learn how to handle their pain with the time that comes. Otherwise, I'm not so sure of how that will begin to affect them."

Sora came out of his room and reentered the kitchen in his new attire. He seemed pleased with it for the most part. In all honesty, Roxas was correct about him looking a bit like Shaft but Sora didn't seem to mind too much. He thought it went well with not only that of an outfit for a funeral, but also it embodied a bit of how Sora felt.

"Not too shabby," Riku told him, examining the outfit.

"It works, I suppose," Sora responded.

Roxas came out with his own suit moments later. "I'm liking this better than I had originally thought," he said as gave off a few tiny poses.

"I'm glad," Mickey stated. "Well now that you two seem to be settled, we should head over to the church," he commented.

The others nodded in agreement, and they all followed the king out to the car.

* * *

**The Church (9:45)**

While King Mickey, Riku, Donald, and Goofy had gotten out of the car right when Riku parked, Sora and Roxas remained. Sora due to his thoughts, and Roxas out of waiting for Sora.

"I don't know if I can go in there," Sora admitted to his other half.

"I know it may not seem like it, but I think it'll make you feel better having something to say goodbye to," Roxas said.

"Why bother? She's already gone," Sora stated. "Saying goodbye to an inanimate shell isn't going to help. If anything, seeing her will make matters worse."

Roxas was pensive for a moment before he spoke again. "I think she would want you there," he told him.

"How would _you _know?" Sora posed with a bit of iciness in his tone.

His Nobody frowned slightly. "Because I know that Naminé always made me say goodbye to her every time we had to part way," he whispered. "And I think she would want that even in death," Roxas continued. "It's fair to say that I believe Kairi would want something similar," he said. "And you at least have a body to say goodbye to…"

Sora regretted his original response to Roxas' thinking. "I-I didn't mean to answer you like that," he muttered. He sighed. "You're right though," Sora admitted. He opened the door to get out, as did Roxas. "We should go inside," He told him.

"Out of respect I think I should kind of stay in the back of the church," Roxas said. "After all, I was never formally introduced with her and I am sure there are others who'd rather be up close," he informed Sora.

"If that suits you," Sora told him as they traveled up the stairs to the church entrance. The cathedral was placed atop of a mountain on the island that overlooked the sea. In the back there was a graveyard near the cliff's edge. In its own little spot away from the other graves, a new hole was dug by the verge. A Sakura tree was looking over it. Sora frowned as he realized that would be Kairi's grave-site.

Upon entering the building, Roxas remained in the back rows as Sora slowly made his way down the long aisle. Dimly, he saw the outline of an open white casket. He swallowed hard as he came closer to the site. It was the longest walk of his life.

Sora was received by his friends near the front. It was obvious to see that they had been either crying or tearing up. The most evident of these happened to be Selphie, who embraced the blue eyed man in a tight hug.

"Oh Sora," she whimpered with her hot tears running down her cheeks. "I can't believe this is happening…"

Unsure of how to exactly comfort her, Sora just simply returned the hug. "I know," he whispered. "It's all unreal," he continued.

Tidus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. His face was red as well. "I'm glad to see you're alright," he said.

"I have you two to thank for finding me," Sora told to Tidus and Wakka.

"You would've done da same for us, brudda," Wakka stated.

Tidus let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry man," he apologized. "We'll miss her," Tidus continued.

"At least she's not in pain," Wakka added, trying to make light of the situation. "We'll see her soon,"

"…but not soon enough," Sora stated leaving them and headed towards the casket.

And there she was; still glorious looking even in death. Kairi was placed in a dark blue dress that Sora recalled as being her favorite. In her hands there was a white rose tuck underneath. Sora desperately tried to hold back the tears that wanted to form.

"God, you're still beautiful," he whispered quietly to the lifeless corpse.

Sora looked at her fingers and noticed the ring wasn't there. A wave of panic overtook him at the moment. He turned to face his friends.

"Where's her-"

"…ring?"

The Keyblade Master turned to see that the voice that answered him belonged to the mayor. He frowned as the elder man approached him. "I'm sorry for your loss, sir," Sora whispered.

"Oh Sora, it's not just my loss," The mayor answered in a sad tone. "She was as much yours as she was mine," he continued handing Sora the diamond ring that belonged to Kairi. "I…didn't know if you had wanted to keep it on her or if you wanted to have it for yourself to remember her by."

The blue eyed man examined the item placed in his hands. He thought it would be appropriate for her to be buried with the ring; it would bury the hope of ever being married along with it. But Sora felt compelled by another force; the feeling of selfishness for certain memories.

"You know mayor," he began, "I think I'll keep it after all."

"Very well then," the mayor answered him. The church bells rang as everyone else took their seats. "I believe the ceremony is starting," he said quietly to the younger man as he sat down. Sora took a seat by Riku and put the ring in his pocket.

Sobs could be heard all over as the priest conducted the ceremony. Sora attempted to pay attention to the words spoken, but failed. He kept thinking of memories between him and his departed loved one.

* * *

"_Look Sora! A shooting star!" _

_Sora adverted his eyes to the sky, trying to eye the site that the 17-year-old Kairi had pointed out. They were atop of the tree house that was above the secret place. It was just the two of them on a late night picnic. Although they had been dating for a year, their relationship wasn't too serious at the time. None of them had ever exchanged the phrase "I love you," yet. They were sitting on a blanket, stargazing. Kairi was snuggled in Sora's arms. _

"_I don't see anything Kairi…" Sora admitted. _

_Kairi giggled. "Oh well," she started out to say, "I guess you don't get a wish then!" Kairi exclaimed. _

_He stuck his tongue out at her. "Whatever," Sora commented. A few moments had gone by before he spoke up again. "Say Kairi," he began, "What exactly did you wish for?" he wondered._

"_Wouldn't you like to know…" Kairi answered with a wink. _

_Sora tickled her slightly. "I'm serious," he said._

_Kairi laughed for a few seconds. "Okay, okay I'll tell you!" she replied. _

_The brunette chuckled. "Now that's a good girl…" _

"_I wished…" Kairi started out. She turned red. "Ahh, I can't do this," Kairi said. _

"_Oh c'mon, you're not getting off that easily!" _

"_Sora, I really don't think I can tell you. Not only is it against the rules of wishing on a star, but it's slightly embarrassing." _

"_Kairi," Sora stated, "you know you can tell me anything. Even if it is embarrassing, I won't laugh!" he promised._

"_You swear?"_

"_I swear," _

_Kairi took a breath. "Alright," she said. "…I wished," Kairi began, "…I wished that you and me could always be together. That we wouldn't be separated again like we were before," she admitted._

_Sora smiled at her. "Kai, that's not silly at all," he said._

"_Don't lie to make me feel better Sora!"_

"_But I'm not," Sora answered looking into her eyes. The stars seemed to twinkle in them. "If I had seen the star, I would've probably wished for the same thing," he admitted. Sora tightened his grip around Kairi. "I don't ever want to have to leave you again," he whispered. _

_Kairi rested her head on his shoulders. "You really mean that?" she asked with a slight tremble. _

_In response, Sora cupped her chin and kissed her gently. _

_That was all Kairi needed to be reassured of Sora's legitimacy._

_

* * *

_

"...is there anyone here who wishes to say something on behalf of Kairi's memory?"

Sora's thoughts were interrupted as the priest posed his questioned. He looked around to see who would go up. Riku decided to break the ice.

"I will," he said softly. The priest nodded his head as he let Riku take the place at the podium. Up there, the cerulean eyed man let out a soft chuckle. "It's fitting for her to be in a white casket," he murmured. "She always was the epitome of purity and light," Riku continued.

More sobs could be heard as he talked.

"The way I remember Kairi, is the way I think most of you here today remember her," the silverette continued. "She was always smiling and happy. God it was annoying sometimes how she could always remain so optimistic," He chided. He received a few small laughs from the crowd. "Kairi never thought of herself, but always those she held dear to her," Riku whispered. Tears started to formulate in his eyes. "I'm really going to miss that about her." He said softly.

A tear managed to slide down his cheek. "I know I am honored to not only have known her for the wonderful woman that she was, but to be consider one of her closest friends," he continued on. "I loved her like she was my own little sister. Growing up with her was a joy because she made everything we've been through an enjoyable experience," He continued. Riku let out a sigh. "I almost can't fathom how it's going to be without her."

"_Stop," _Sora's mind begged. _"Don't even let me think about that…" _his inner self pleaded.

"I apologize if I sound cliché but even though she is no longer here physically, I know Kairi will continue to exist in all of our memories and in our hearts."

"_God," _Sora thought holding back tears. "_Please stop it. I can't take it anymore…" _

Luckily for Sora, Riku was just about finished. His friend turned and faced the casket. "Rest in Peace Kairi," he whispered. "You'll be missed," Riku finished as he left the podium and proceed to his seat.

Sora was digging his nails into his hands. Holding back his tears was a harder task than originally thought. The Keybearer observed those around him. It seemed as if everyone was looking at him, expecting to go up. But he knew he wouldn't be able to handle saying anything.

King Mickey leaned over and whispered in Sora's ears, "Don't feel obligated to do anything you don't have to."

But Sora _did _feel obligated. Kairi was after all, the love of his life.

His conscious eventually got the better of him.

Sora proceeded to the podium. He looked out to everyone. The people in the church appeared so distraught. Everyone ranging from his friends, to strangers, to Roxas all the way in the back…the sorrow in the room was intense.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

The hero of the worlds tried again, but he couldn't seem to formulate any type of terminology. His heart ached at his inability to do so. "_I give up," _he thought. Sora, instead of speaking, left the podium and headed to the casket.

He looked down upon Kairi once more and examined her. Her mouth was tight and her expression did not convey any form of life of happiness. It was so unlike her…

"_They want to know how I feel about her," _Sora thought. He leaned over Kairi's face. "_This is how I feel…" _he whispered, giving Kairi a kiss. He drew back though.

She was so _cold. _

Sora's chest became tight again and he was getting dizzy. He quickly took his seat and stared at the floor of the church. The audience remained silent.

Roxas felt a tear slide down his cheek. Sora's act was very moving to him because he knew exactly how he felt. "Oh Naminé…" he whispered. More tears came down his cheeks. "I'm sorry I wasn't there…" he murmured. Roxas buried his head in his hands.

The priest conducted the last prayers as the ceremony closed. "At this time we ask that whoever wishes to view the body for one last time to do so now," he said.

The aisle filled quickly. Sora, although in the first row, let others before him. Roxas had risen and was walking towards him. Sora decided to wait for him at the end before he said goodbye one last time.

Selphie sobbed uncontrollably as she said her farewells. Tidus took Selphie and comforted her as she finished and the line progressed. Wakka touched his heart and then Kairi's hand. Goofy and Donald removed their hats and bowed slightly towards the casket. A few glimpses of tears could be seen in their eyes. King Mickey tipped his head towards Kairi. Riku affectionately stroked her arm as he passed by.

By the time Roxas arrive, Sora and he were the last in line. Roxas nodded towards Sora, going before him. He looked at Kairi and let out a gentle smile. "I love you Naminé…" he whispered towards the body so that no others could hear him. Roxas gave a quick squeeze on Kairi's hand. "I'll see you both someday soon," he said leaving.

Sora peered into the casket for a third and final time. He knew that they had to get going with her burial. He bent down and whispered into Kairi's ear.

"You were my everything, Kairi," he murmured. Sora kissed her cold cheek one last time. "I'll love you forever," he continued with his words getting choked up. Sora memorized the vision of her in his head so that he could remember it. But truthfully, he didn't want to remember her like this…

The spiky haired man moved away from the casket and allowed the pallbearers to close the casket, and take it out to the back.

On the site, the crowd gathered for one last time as they lowered the casket into the ground. Sora's face remained solemn and without tears. His inside was eating away at him.

"_She's really gone…"_

_I know,_

"_Do you really?" _

_Yes…_

By this time, the casket was in the ground and the dirt had been placed back over the hole. People were starting to head towards their cars and getting ready to leave. Sora wasn't ready though. He still had some things to say…

"Do you want a few minutes alone?" Riku inquired.

Sora nodded. "I would like that," he muttered.

Roxas and Riku nodded and started to head down to the parking lot. Sora was left to stare at the freshly covered ground. Flowers were placed atop of it. Sora gazed up for a moment. He could see the sea so clearly from the edge. It was stormy off in the distance, causing the sky to become dark. He knew it would rain soon so he tried to hurry up.

"I-I loved you first," Sora whispered to the grave.

No answer.

"I hope you know that," he continued on.

Still nothing…

The Keybearer suppressed a cry. "It's not fair that this happened to you…to us," he whispered. "I wish I was down there with you right now," Sora admitted.

Silent as the grave had a whole new meaning to him…

His expression grew angry. "I swear they'll pay for this," the man stated.

Sora's voice became filled with hate. "I couldn't protect you," he said softly, "but I will _avenge _you," Sora continued, "I swear it."

God, why couldn't he at least imagine her answering him?

"I'll come to visit you soon, when I'm done with everything," The brunette said. He looked up at the Sakura, which was in bloom and he plucked a flower off of it. Sora kissed it and tossed it on the grave. It was now oh so conveniently raining, casting an ever darker cloud on the day.

Sora quivered for a moment. "Goodbye…Kairi…" he whispered as he turned to leave.

All the cars had left already except for one. Riku, Roxas, King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were all waiting for Sora. The Keyblade Master got into the car as Riku proceeded to head out.

"Did you get to say goodbye?" his friend wondered.

Sora hesitated a bit, but nodded. "Yeah, I did…" he whispered.

Riku let out a small smile. "I'm glad," he responded.

King Mickey spoke up from the back, "The Highlander has been prepared for you and Roxas," he said, "Riku is taking us there right now."

"So, exactly how is this going to play out?" Sora asked.

"You're expected to arrive at Hollow Bastion sometime today. Leon and the rest of them will be expecting you." Mickey explained. "I sent a radiogram to them last night and informed them of the situation. Aurora was brought there for protection and you and Roxas will be going to see if everything's alright," he continued. "After that, proceed to the worlds and check on the other princesses as well. While you're there you might learn some things about our new enemies. We'll be searching for answers as well," The King informed, "You'll be able to contact us for help through the ship if you need it."

"We should be able to do that," Roxas said with a small grin.

Sora nodded slightly. "It sounds like a plan."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you guys?" Riku asked.

"I need you here, Riku," King Mickey said before anyone else. "You'll assist me in trying to figure out what we're up against."

Riku frowned. He thought he'd be spending his time more wisely on the ship with Sora and Roxas, trying to protect the other princesses.

"We'll be fine Riku," Sora assured him.

"You think you can handle it at this time?" Riku wondered.

"I think we can," Roxas replied.

Riku sighed. He still wasn't convinced, but what choice did he have?

They had finally reached the beach where the Highlander was parked. Sora and Roxas got out of the car and placed their jackets over their head to block the rain.

King Mickey looked at them and smiled. "I have faith in you two," he said. "If anyone can do this task, it's the both of you," the mouse continued.

"Be careful you guys," Riku added in a cautious tone.

"We'll try to be…" Sora stated with a sly smile.

Riku let out his own tiny smile. Sora shook his hand tightly. "See you soon," he continued.

"GOOD LUCK!" Donald and Goofy chimed from the back seat.

Both Roxas and Sora smiled at them and waved goodbye. They then quickly dashed for the Highlander as the rain poured ever harder. The two got in without any trouble.

King Mickey sighed. He hoped he would be correct about them being alright.

"Should we stay to see them take off?" Riku asked.

"No, we should head to the reception and probably inform the guests on why Kairi's fiancée will not be attending," The King said.

"I'm sure by now they're wondering where we've gone to," Goofy added.

Riku hesitated for a moment, but took once last glance at the Highlander, and then drove away.

"_Good luck Sora…and Roxas. I hope you'll be ok." _

"Do you know how to fly this thing?" Roxas asked as he looked around the ship. It was more spacious than when Sora had originally traveled in it. There were a couple of bedrooms and the cockpit had some walking room.

Sora paused for a moment. "You want the honest to God truth?" he asked.

"Usually when one poses a question, that's what they expect," Roxas answered with some amusement.

"Donald was always the one to fly this thing," Sora admitted.

Roxas walked over to the controls. "Hmm, maybe we can just start it and then put it on auto-pilot." He suggested. Roxas began to reach for the ignition.

"You know," Sora began, "I wouldn't…"

Roxas started the ship and entered the coordinates to get to Hollow Bastion.

"…do that," Sora stated.

"Destination: Hollow Bastion. Auto-Pilot: Engaged," The computer said monotonously.

And with that, the ship began to fly into the air instantly with an enormous amount of speed. Luckily for Sora, he had already strapped himself in. Roxas, however, happened to still be standing, causing him to fall back. And by the time the ship had slowed down in space; he was in the back of the cockpit.

Sora couldn't help but let out a snicker.

Disheveled a bit, Roxas tried to regain himself and proceed back to the front. "…I…am…_never…_doing that again," he stated.

"Glad to hear it," Sora said. "You might want to sit down and buckle up in case we run into any trouble while in the air," He suggested.

His Nobody agreed with that suggestion and immediately strapped himself in.

Time passed by and the ship was silent for a bit. Roxas, never one to enjoy the silence, decided to speak.

"…you did a nice job up there, today."

Sora turned to his counterpart. "I didn't do anything really…" he admitted.

"But you did," Roxas began to explain, "you showed us what she meant to you."

The brunette shrugged. "I guess," he whispered.

Roxas frowned. "…would it be better if I didn't discuss that topic anymore?" he asked.

"…yes actually. I think it would be a bit better." Sora answered.

Roxas nodded. "Alright then," he said.

Silence overtook them once more. Roxas had wanted to think of other things to talk about, but he looked at Sora who was filled with sorrow and realized that Sora didn't want to speak about anything at the moment. He was way too busy in thought.

Sora gazed out into the galaxy in front of them. All he could think about was Kairi. She just couldn't leave his mind. And Sora thought he was just day dreaming, but he swore he saw a shooting star go by.

"Arriving at your destination of HOLLOW BASTION," The computer informed.

The brunette shook his head out of thought as he and Roxas gazed at the planet before them.

"That wasn't too bad of a flight," the blonde said. "I think we got it down!" he exclaimed cheerily.

"Yeah, if you exclude the actual getting _down _part," Sora answered.

Roxas' face grew still as he realized that neither one of them knew how to land. "Oh…no…" he muttered.

The ship's alarms went off as Hollow Bastion's gravity pulled the Highlander down.

"SHIT!" Sora exclaimed. He started pressing buttons to try to land the ship correctly as it was hurling down. "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" Sora continued to yell.

He and Roxas both screamed as the Highlander crashed into the world known as Hollow Bastion.

* * *

…and I'll leave you off there :D

I am really starting to love this story and once the next few chapters come out, it'll really get juicy!

But yeah, if you guys like music that goes with a story, download "Seize the Day" by Avenged Sevenfold. I originally had the lyrics in this story but was advised against having them in a fanfic. Listen to song though, and see how it flows perfectly with how I see both Sora and Roxas dealing with the deaths of their loved ones. "Videotape" by Radiohead is another gorgeous song that seems to fit too.

**Next Chapter: **Sora and Roxas make it to Hollow Bastion barely alive and discover some news that they certainly did not want to hear.

Many thanks to my reviewers; your words of encouragement keep this story alive. You all know who you are.

Love,

SonChan


	4. A Taste of Chaos

Rancoeur du Coeur 

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, or any part of Disney or Square-Enix. I own the million of OC's you will be seeing inside this story and the story idea.

**Authors Note:**

Don't expect more updates anytime soon, I'm just forcing myself to commit to _something._ I never wanted to be one of those authors that "didn't' finish" so despite my lack of interest in fan fiction, I will put forth some time to this story over a set period. I don't know what that period will be, but I will keep it on my mind.

_Long story short_: My mom died a while back and it's taken its toll on me. I'm trying to use writing to help deal with things. So I apologize for the break, but hey; I hope this comes as a pleasant surprise to some.

While re-reading this story, it's almost laughable how I was writing something to help me cope with the loss of my mother. Written far before any such pain was imaginable for me, I have a new sense of how and where this story should go. For those who have been patient, thanks for waiting and for everyone who read this so far. Your words make it worth the effort.

**DETAILED SUMMARY:** To Sora, life was as perfect as it could be. He was engaged to Kairi, a well-respected Keyblade bearer, and just a happy go-lucky 21 year old. That was, until a new cult of fallen Keyblade wielders decided to eliminate the Princesses of Hearts. Helpless to save her, Sora vows to avenge Kairi's murder anyway he can, even if it means giving into darkness. And Roxas, who had lost Naminé when Kairi was killed, secedes from Sora to help him in his cause. But as they get closer to reaching their goal, Roxas starts to realize the consequences of what he and Sora intend to do. SK RN

**QUICK SUMMARY:** He couldn't protect her, but he would avenge her. SK RN

* * *

**Chapter 4: A Taste of Chaos**

**(Warning-sexual tones in this chapter!)**

"_Roxas, I refuse to step on that thing."_

_Namine's blue eyes twinkled even in the midst of defying her boyfriend's request. She had to only witness the amount of bruises that appeared on the other skaters at the park to be convinced of the dangers that came with the sport. Such a task would surely injure a novice, like herself, if she were to try it. No, it was simply out of the question. _

"_Aw, please Nam?" _

_His pouting face was almost unbearable to behold. It was a mixture of absurdness and charm. And the voice behind the visage was just as strangely adorable. How could she refuse such an endearing effort on his part? _

"_No, Roxas," Naminé repeated to the stubborn nobody._

_Roxas sighed. "What is it with you girls and not wanting to try anything dangerous for once?" he wondered aloud._

"_Oh, so you admit it's dangerous!" Naminé exclaimed. She had to give off a wry grin, for she knew she was winning this argument. _

_He had to smack his forehead. Even Roxas could tell he wasn't going to convince her anytime soon. He needed to think of a different approach. "That's not what I meant," Roxas said. _

"_Then what did you mean?"_

"…_I uh…"_

"_Roxas…" Naminé stated in a demanding tone. _

"_Naminé, you can trust me. I would never want you to get hurt," Roxas said. He started to take out some protective gear from his backpack. The supplies included equipment that covered every spot you could imagine an injury occurring on. Roxas let out a pathetic smile. "…you see?" he continued._

_Naminé looked at him, and then eyed the paraphernalia in his hands. All of a sudden, her cynical grin turned into a genuine smile. And that smile soon enough turned into a laugh. As she kept giggling, Roxas himself had to laugh along with her._

"_You're something else, you know that right?" She asked._

_He smiled at her and placed the helmet on her head. "I try," he responded with his grin getting wider._

_

* * *

_

**Hollow Bastion (7:24 pm) **

"Wake up, Roxas. Wake the hell up!"

Roxas' eyes twitched as he slowly opened them to see a glaring and battered Sora peering over him. Slowly sitting up, he noticed his surroundings were made up of a deep hole created by the Highlander. Surprisingly enough, the ship itself was in mint condition. Roxas raised an eyebrow to his counterpart. "So explain how we can get thrown from a ship plummeting thousands of feet from space and yet that very same ship can remain in perfect shape?" he wondered.

Sora shrugged. "How the fuck should I know?" he snapped. "Do I look like an aircraft engineer?" the young man continued.

A frown appeared on Roxas' face. "Just asking…geeze," He muttered rising up. Roxas wiped the dust that had settled on his clothes. "How long have you been up?" he asked Sora.

"About a half hour," Sora responded.

"And just now you decided to wake me up so urgently?"

Sora paused for a second and the stern face grew gentle. "…you looked happy," he said softly. "I thought you should enjoy a few more moments of that," Sora's eyes then met Roxas'. "…were you dreaming about her?" he continued.

Roxas nearly blinked in bewilderment. "How'd you know?"

"Just the way you were smiling."

Roxas' face grew solemn. "It was more…like reliving a memory," he stated. Roxas then thought to return the question. "And you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, did you dream about Kairi at all?" he wondered.

The dark haired man turned away from his nobody and started to walk. "It wasn't a dream," he mused aloud. Sora just kept heading towards the silhouetted entrance of what was Hollow Bastion Castle. Roxas just stared in place at his foil. A hint of pity went out to the man, despite his now disgruntled behavior.

"Well you coming or what?" Sora snapped back.

Shaking his head from his thoughts, Roxas quickly sped up to Sora as both men made their way to the entrance. However, something wasn't right…

Despite the Heartless being long gone from this world, Sora could still sense that something was amiss in the air. The two were about a day later than expected due to the complications with their transportation. He hoped that the two's tardiness had not affected the circumstances.

Hollow Bastion Castle was still in an impressive form as it was the first time Sora laid eyes on it. The sight seemed familiar to Roxas, due to Sora's memories being imbedded in his own. Yet, the nobody still marveled at the structure and architecture of the building as if it was a brand new experience for him.

"Amazing," he breathed.

Sora paid no attention to the comment as they found themselves at the front gate. He was worried about other things than the sights.

"I feel uneasy," he said aloud placing his hand over the dark, cold iron. Sora faced his counterpart. "I'm not sure if you can sense it, but it's like there's a chill in the air that's making its way into my heart."

"Can't feel, remember?"

"Damn you and your sarcasm."

"Yeesh Sora," Roxas frowned and paused for a moment. Even though he wished to make better the situation with some humor, now was certainly not the time. "Look, point is, I'm not sensing what you are but that's probably due to my circumstances and not the fact that you could be wrong."

The brown haired man shook the gate. "You think this would've been open, for instance…" Sora muttered. He continued to bash against it adding his voice to the problem. "Leon! Cloud! Anybody, open up! It's Sora!"

"About time you showed up, kid."

Roxas nearly jumped at the voice the belonged to the man behind him. "GEEZE," He mumbled as he turned to see an aggravated Leon standing there, arms folded.

"Technical difficulties," Sora replied. He took a few steps towards the elder fighter. "Nice to see you too, Leon," Sora stated extending a hand. Leon took it with more warmth than in his previous tone.

"You've grown up, I see." Leon commented. His eyes observed the Keybearer. "You're the real deal now it seems."

"As if I wasn't before?"

Leon laughed slightly. "Relax," he said, "It's my silly way of giving you a compliment." Leon added with some sarcasm.

"Ah, yes…your famous 'Leon compliments', how could I have forgotten?" Sora stated with a smirk.

Roxas coughed, signifying he was feeling rather left out of the conversation. Sora rolled his eyes at the motion. "This," he started off saying to his older companion, "is Roxas."

Leon did a double take at the two boys in front of him, obviously noticing the stark similarities between them. Warily, he extended his hand towards the blonde. "Nice to meet you, Roxas," Leon stated.

"Same here," Roxas replied in a cheery manner.

After the formalities, Leon opened the iron rod gate that separated the trio from the castle's entrance. As they made their way into the center, Sora tilted his head towards Leon in curiosity. "So…why the tight security?" Sora inquired.

"How hard did you hit your head on that landing, kid?" Leon replied giving him a quizzical look. Not obviously amused at the jab, Sora remained silent. Leon sighed. "We're keeping Aurora here for safe keeping," he said softly.

"Well…something must have happened then, if you guys are being so uptight."

This time, the comment came from Roxas, stunning both Leon and Sora. Leon twitched nervously as he began to walk faster, passing the two other up. "Wait!" Sora shouted running up to the Lionheart, "Leon, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing,"

"LEON!"

"They already tried to break in, Sora!" the older man yelled in response. The brunette backed up a few steps, only to be joined by his blonde companion seconds later.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, sensing the distress.

Leon folded his arms, all the while trying to appear emotionless. "Basically, before you two decided to grace us with your presence, several of those damned wizards made their way into the complex…" he answered, maintaining a rather stoic appearance.

"WHAT!" Sora and Roxas exclaimed at the same time. Sora quickly tugged on Leon's arm. "Leon! Is Aurora alright?" he asked almost frightened by what the answer could be.

A sigh was his reply. "She's fine," Leon began, emitting yet another rejoinder of sighs from the duo. "However," the man started up in a darker tone, "they did happen to inform us that they've already disposed of Cinderella and Snow White…"

Sora shot back in horror. "No!" he shouted. "You can't be…you can't be serious!"

Roxas shook his head in disbelief. "Already?" was the only thing he could bring himself to say.

Leon shifted uncomfortably as he punched in the security code on another door. "Cloud had gone to retrieve Snow, only to find her being mourned over again by the dwarves," he revealed. "One of the men named Fallon had said she'd been found as such," Leon added.

"Fallon…" Roxas repeated quietly.

"And Cinderella?" Sora questioned bitterly.

Leon just kept walking towards the main lounge in a hurry. Sora was growing impatient with the man's fidgetiness. He grabbed Leon's arm and threw him towards the wall. "_Why _are you acting like this, Leon!" Sora shouted, holding the other man by the collar.

"Whoa Sora, calm down!" Roxas exclaimed pulling off his counterpart. Sora tried to steady his breathing as Leon stared in confusion. Sighing, he apologized for his behavior.

"Look, I'm sorry Leon…but there's obviously something you're holding back from me," Sora stated.

Slightly rubbing his neck, Leon cleared his throat. "No, I'm not being straightforward," he confessed to the two. Another sigh escaped his lips. "Here, I'll explain everything with the others," he offered opening the door to reveal a bevy of familiar faces, at least to Sora.

"Sora!" Yuffie shouted springing to her feet to greet the Keybearer. Sora was caught unawares by the ebony haired girl's spunk. It had been so long since he had seen or heard from the great ninja. She eagerly pulled him into a hug. "It's been so long," she spoke.

"It really has," Sora replied embracing the girl back. They separated as Sora's attention turned to Cid and Merlin, both of whom acknowledged the Keyblade Master in their own ways.

"Sora, my boy! Wonderful to see you!"

"Howdy partner, how've you been?"

"Cid! Merlin!" Sora couldn't hide his genuine smile brought on by being rejoined with his old friends. He gave each of them a hearty handshake. Roxas beamed in the corner; he was glad to see Sora happy for this small moment.

While Merlin was shaking Sora's hand, he leaned in close the younger boy. "My friend, I would just like to extend my condolences about your beautiful Kairi," he said solemnly. Sora's expression changed just as instantly as it had moments earlier.

"Oh…" Sora could barely think of a reply. He frowned unsure of what to say.

"We all are, Sora," Yuffie added in a dismal tone.

Sora simply nodded. "Thanks you guys," he whispered in earnest, "means a lot."

"Everyone, this is Sora's friend Roxas," Leon stated changing the topic at hand. Roxas gave off a friendly wave.

"Hello everyone!"

Yuffie walked over and circled the boy. Roxas' eyes shifted trying to track the ninja's movements. "Uhh…" he muttered as Yuffie looked under his jacket. The girl's actions were very peculiar to the nobody.

"Hmm, interesting," Yuffie started to say, "you and Sora look so alike. You even have the same cute ass!" she added giving a slight tap to the aforementioned body part.

Sora nearly choked at her words and all Roxas could do was laugh uncomfortably. "You don't say?" he responded, a small sweat drop appearing on his head.

Leon smacked the girl's head. "Knock it off, Yuff…" he said under his breath. Yuffie glared.

"Oh c'mon Leon, just lightening up the mood!"

"Did I ask for it to be lightened?"

"Oh right, I forgot I am dealing with _Mr. Leon wahhh I'm so bitter and dark and I refuse to go by my real name because it sounds like squid!" _

"I swear Yuffie, one of these days…"

"Both of you quit it; you're giving me a headache!"

The last voice to speak ended up being a very recognizable blonde SOLDIER. Sora's ears perked up in interest as he saw Cloud now entering the room with Tifa.

"Cloud, Tifa!" Sora exclaimed. Tifa beamed.

"It's so nice to see you, Sora!" she answered warmly.

"Same here," he responded. The Keybearer turned his head back and forth. "Hey where's Aerith?" the brunette questioned curiously.

Cloud's normally stoic face became filled with emotion at the mention of the flower seller's name. "Leon didn't tell you?" he asked bitterly, looking at his friend with a crumpled brow.

"I thought it would be best for us to all explain the situation…" Leon said.

The blonde threw his arms up. "Then you do just that," he said heading for the door. Tifa tilted her head.

"Cloud! Wait!" she shouted reaching towards the fading figure.

Now Sora and Roxas were completely confused. "What's wrong with him?" Roxas asked, sympathizing with the distressed man.

Leon let out a sigh. "Take a seat you two, we have some explaining to do," the Lionheart stated pulling out two chairs. Once they were situated, Leon continued with his elucidation. "We heard about Kairi's death from the King and we were promptly instructed to bring Aurora to the castle," he said.

"After she was brought here, we got to thinking that it might be smart to do this with the other princesses as well," Yuffie chimed in.

"Exactly," Leon nodded. "Which is why we sent Cloud after Snow White and…" he paused himself.

"…you sent Aerith after Cinderella, right Leon?" Sora commented intuitively.

Shocked from his correct guess, Leon's eyes grew wide. "…yeah," he replied. "I was to stay here with Aurora, and Yuffie joined Aerith in retrieving Cinderella," Leon continued.

"So what happened there?" Roxas asked.

Yuffie shifted, her normally cheerful disposition grew solemn. "We informed Cinderella of the situation; after agreeing to come with us, she and Aerith were on their way here while I was going to get Alice," she commented. She sniffled a bit. "I should have gone with them…" the black haired woman murmured.

"That would have solved nothing," Leon nearly snapped. He recoiled when he saw his words had hurt the girl. "It's not your fault," he added gently.

Sora had understood what happened without the words needing to be said. "They both were killed, weren't they?" he revealed.

"Yeah," Yuffie replied, "their gummi was blown to smithereens."

"God rest yer souls," Cid muttered.

A sad frown appeared on both of the vigilantes' faces. "Aerith," Sora barely whispered. He clenched his fist with a great amount of force. "Is Alice okay?" he asked, fearing for the worst.

"She's fine for now," Leon stated. "I made Yuffie turn around immediately after learning about Aerith and Cinderella," he revealed.

"We just decided that it would be better off not to try and bring them all to the same place, lest we endanger them even further," Merlin added.

"So we're just leaving her and Jasmine and Belle all to fend for themselves?" Sora exclaimed jumping to his feet.

"If you want to put yourself in danger Sora, you're more than welcomed to do so," Leon responded, "but, despite disobeying the King, I refuse to have anyone else here put more in harm's way than need be."

Roxas again placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "He has a point Sor," he said, "God forbid we group all the girls in one place and they just get taken out at once."

The brunette sat back down in frustration. "Jasmine and Belle both have someone there to protect them, so I suppose they are alright for now," Sora rationalized, "however, Alice is all by herself. The most help she's getting is from a disappearing, riddle loving cat. And let's face it; Cheshire is no help at all…" he continued.

Tifa, who had remained silent for quite some time, finally added her opinion to the matter. "We've been taking turns watching Aurora," she explained, "and it seems like with at least the lot of us plus Prince Phillip, we've been pretty successful."

"So what are you getting at?" Roxas questioned the pretty fighter.

The girl lifted a finger in the air. "I'm saying that if you are worried about the others, then we can hold the fort here!" Tifa answered.

Sora shook his head. "That was the original plan but…no; it wouldn't do any good. Not if they've already broken in…" he murmured looking at Leon. He cocked an eyebrow. "You _did _say that happened, but haven't told us how," the 21-year-old stated.

"I almost forgot to tell you about their little visit," Leon articulated with irritation at the very thought. "Two of them were able to appear right in this very room using the dark portals. One of the men said his name was Fallon and the other one was-"

"Vulcan?" Sora sneered.

"-nah, another similarly named man though. I believe it was Talon? Either way…as all these ridiculous villains love to do, they basically came to deliver a message. Just that. They didn't even attempt to go for Aurora," Leon continued to speak; "they just said that we had made a futile effort in trying to retrieve two deceased princesses."

Cid spit out onto the floor. "Those damned hoagies even had the gall to take a crack at Aerith," he shouted smashing his fist into his other hand.

Merlin glared as he fiercely wavered back and forth across the room. "The vile creatures had said something along the lines of '_Pretty flower girls should be seen not heard, unless they wished to be silenced forever',_" he muttered, angry as a charging hippo. "Why, if I had been just a few hundred years younger, I would've…" Merlin started to say, getting carried away in his thoughts.

"If Cloud had been there, I'm sure they both would have lost their heads," Tifa stated shaking her head.

"He's surprisingly restrained," Sora commented looking at the door where Cloud had left through.

"He's got his light to thank for that," Yuffie said pointing to Tifa.

The girl blushed. "Cloud was just lucky enough to have two sources of light," she murmured quietly, "I don't think I happen to shine as brightly as she did though."

Sora stood up once more. "This I swear to you guys," he started off in a very stern voice, "Aerith's death will _not _be in vain and as long as Roxas and I are here, no one else will come to harm's way."

Roxas nodded. "That goes double for me," he added with a wink.

"So what's the plan, champ?" Leon asked.

"We'll remain here until we think of a better solution for where we should place Aurora," Sora told him. "Then, Roxas and I will track down the others and try to find more information out about these guys."

His nobody faced Leon once more. "Leon," he began, "did Fallon and Talon mention anything else of interest?"

The Lionheart looked disheveled. "I wish," the scar faced man murmured; "they didn't even give their little group a name…only that they're intending to continue offing each princess one by one. The only clue was that they were able to use dark magic but that's not very helpful now is it?"

Sora's blue eyes sparkled with an idea. "Maybe it is," he said softly.

"What are you getting at?"

"Just a thought," Sora stated shaking his head, "that's all it is at the moment. When I come up with an exact solution I'll let you guys in on it."

"Secrets, secrets are no fun, Sora…" Yuffie singsonged.

"Then how come I've only found out just _now _that you think I have a cute ass?"

The comment made everyone except Yuffie laugh for a brief moment. Leon cracked his knuckles as he started to give out his orders. "Alright everyone, make sure you remember your positions tonight. Aurora is counting on us," he said.

"Where do you want us to be?" Roxas posed.

"You guys can take Cloud's usual position outside Aurora's door," the other man answered, "we'll take turns switching shifts and such."

Roxas held his thumb up. "Gotcha!" he remarked.

Before everyone went their separate ways, Sora approached Cid. "Say Cid," he started off saying, "our gummi looks fine on the outside, but we had a pretty rough landing. Would you be able to check her out?"

Cid beamed, "well gummi's are my specialty!"

"Exactly why I'm asking you,"

"'Course I can help ya kid," the man replied, slightly slugging Sora in the shoulder. The brunette winced at the action.

"Yeah…" his eyes darted towards Roxas, "hey Roxas? How about you take Cid out to the gummi and then see if Leon can show you around."

Roxas tilted his head. "You don't want me to come with you?"

Sora shook his head. "In a bit…I wanted to check on Cloud and Aurora beforehand, though," the brunette revealed. Roxas nodded in understanding.

"I see," he answered as he walked over to Cid. "Alright, let me show you the magnificent beast herself. Any chance you could make it easier to land?" Roxas started to ramble on to Cid as they both left the room.

Sora took this moment alone to slowly make his way over to the main chamber where Aurora was being kept. Taking his time, the man traced his fingers along the walls he knew so well. Each time he visited the realm once known as Radiant Garden his memories flooded back to him. This where he defeated Maleficent, where he was forced to fight his best friend of fourteen years, where…

Where he gave up his heart for the one he loved the most.

He grimaced as he passed the room where such a selfless act occurred. Sora knew that if he ever had to, he'd do it all over again. He always said he would've done anything for Kairi. Whether it was using his jacket to cover her head in a rainstorm or putting away his hormonal desires until she was ready, Sora always put Kairi first. And as he walked over these familiar places, Sora realized that he always, in some ways, would.

He noticed Cloud perched up against Aurora's door and decided to approach the embittered man. "Hey," Sora said quietly, "you hanging in there?"

The blonde cocked his head over to the young Keybearer. "As much as one can," he murmured in reply. Cloud ran his hand through his spikes. "I should be used to losing the people closest to me by now…" he whispered.

Sora turned his face towards Cloud. "No one deserves to lose their loved ones," he said sincerely.

Cloud released a half-smile. "You sure as Hell didn't," he began, "you've always been a far better person than I…and that Kairi was a great gal."

"So was Aerith," the brunette responded dejected.

His friend shrugged. "Even the best fall down sometimes," he muttered slowly. Cloud inched his way up to meet Sora at eye level. "If you don't mind taking over watchdog duties, I'm going to attempt to get some sleep," he stated.

"Yeah, I was just about to let you know you've been relieved,"

Cloud smirked. "Lucky me," he muttered walking away. He paused before leaving completely though. "What do you intend to do, Keyblade Master?" the blonde questioned quite gravely.

Sora arched his brow. "In terms of what?"

His friend began to walk back towards him. "I mean in terms of this whole situation," Cloud began. The SOLDIER pointed to Sora's heart. "You've always been strong enough to resist the dark," he continued, "any reason we should be worried?"

The Keybearer's lips parted at Cloud's intuitiveness. He knew his friend had struggled long and hard with taming the darkness within his thoughts.

Faced with Sora's silence, Cloud turned away once more. "You don't have to answer that now," he began, "but you should be thinking about it at least," he finished finally leaving the Keybearer alone. Sora touched his chest and sighed. He knew that there was such a deep hurt lurking there inside of his heart that soon it would be all too easy for the darkness to come in a cloud his mind completely.

About to turn the doorknob, Sora hesitated as he heard Aurora and another man speaking from inside. He almost charged in to protect the woman only to realize she was conversing with her husband. Ever the eavesdropper, the blue eyed hero placed his ear to the door.

"Shh," he heard Phillip whisper, "it'll be alright Aurora."

"Oh, Phillip, I am just so frightened!" the girl cried.

Sora's heartstrings tugged hearing how terrified the princess sounded. He heard her sniffling again.

"I'm not afraid of dying," Aurora told her prince, "I'm afraid of being separated from you."

Phillip tucked her blonde wisps behind her ear. "That's impossible," the man murmured. "The day you die is when I die too," he promised.

Sora figured he should announce himself, although the Keyblade Master blushed as he entered in during the tender moment the two were sharing.

"I-I can leave!" Sora exclaimed flushing.

Phillip shook his head. "That won't be necessary," he said as he politely stepped towards the door. Aurora winced but Phillip gave her a gentle smile. "I'll just be outside for a moment," he told her. The princess nodded, fully believing the words of her husband. With another quick squeeze, he politely acknowledged Sora and whispered his thanks to the Keybearer. Sora turned to Aurora and bowed.

"I'm not sure if you remember me at all…" he started off.

Aurora beamed. "Of course I remember you, Sora," she said warmly, "you've saved my life more times than I can properly count!"

Another slight flush of color flooded to Sora's cheeks. "Eh, I'm not that great," he insisted. The brunette eyed the woman intently. Aurora was truly a sleeping beauty…well, minus the sleeping part at this moment. Her tears looked so strange on her soft face. "Have they explained the situation to you, yet?" Sora wondered aloud.

The lady in blue sniffled. "They have," she started off but found herself choking on a sob, "it's just so horrible to think this is happening. It was one thing to be kidnapped but to think that someone would want to hurt us is…"

"Please don't worry yourself," Sora pleaded aching over her cries.

The beautiful blonde wiped away her tears on an old handkerchief. "Oh dear me," she said, embarrassed by her behavior. "I must look awful! And to think, I am making such a fuss in front of the hero of the worlds…what a crybaby I must be!" Aurora muttered.

Sora shook his head. "Your majesty," he began.

"-Aurora, please…"

"Aurora," Sora corrected himself, "you have nothing to be ashamed of."

The princess sat down on her bed and looked up in admiration. "How I wish I could be as brave as you and Phillip…" Aurora spoke fondly.

"Oh but you are," Sora replied joining her on the bed. "Your heart's strength is the greatest source of courage there is," he continued motioning towards her chest. Aurora placed her delicate, pale hand to her heart.

"Yes," she started off unsure, "I-I suppose you're right."

The Keybearer reached for Aurora's free hand and gave it a prompt pull. "I promise nothing will harm you," Sora whispered to the frightened princess, "not while I'm around."

Aurora smiled softly as she tugged the Keybearer's hand. "Thank you Sora," she murmured.

Sora returned the motion and gave off a small smile of his own. Something about Aurora's sweetness reminded him of Kairi, but in a way that wasn't a painful memory. Rather, it was a thought of a happier instance that instead of anguishing over, Sora relished. He bowed slightly as he headed out the door. "My friend Roxas and I will be right outside the door," the Keyblade Master revealed. "If anything happens, we'll be right there."

"I trust you…"

_So did Kairi…_

Sora looked horrified as his subconscious decided to torment him once more. Not wanting to disturb the already terrified princess, he quickly vacated out the door to spare Aurora his inner turmoil. He passed Phillip without even acknowledging the man and the prince was left confused as he joined his wife in bed. Roxas, who had already been waiting outside, sensed Sora's distress.

"Dude, you okay?"

The brunette painfully glanced at his counterpart; his breathing increased tenfold. "I-I I'm fine," he said sliding up against the wall. Sora shot Roxas a weak smile. "I just need some sleep…" the blue eyed man commented weakly.

Roxas frowned as he was fully aware of Sora's unnerved state. "Yeah, that would be best…"

Sora closed his eyes as he slumped to the ground. "You sure you don't mind taking the first shift?" he asked out of a halfhearted concern.

The blonde cracked his knuckles and playfully tapped Sora's shoulder. "Someone's gotta look sharp!" he exclaimed.

Amused, Sora released a faint chuckle as he dosed off moments later. Roxas sighed as he also joined his counterpart on the floor. He could only imagine how Sora's lack of sleep affected his already troubled mind. "What a mess," he murmured to himself, since Sora was clearly asleep by this point. The flaxen haired man ran his fingers through his messy spikes. A slight twinge of jealously sprouted in his heart as he realized Sora was probably dreaming, something Roxas longed to do since it was the only time he could feel like Naminé was still with him.

Little did he know Sora was far from dreaming...

* * *

"_Kairi!" Sora shouted reaching for the red head in vain. _

"_Sora!" the princess returned the call. Her feeble hands frantically stretched towards her lover but to no avail. The distance between the two was growing by the minute._

_Sora suddenly remembered the scenario as it was exactly like the time he and Kairi separated at the end of their first adventure. Taking a breath, Sora jumped off the platform where he had been and glided over to Kairi nearly knocking her to the ground. Clutching him tightly and crying at the same time, Kairi whimpered the Keyblade Master's name over and over. "Sora," she murmured into his neck._

"_Shh," Sora shushed away her tears with soft kisses along her jaw line. "It's okay Kairi, I'm not leaving you…" he promised her, holding her even closer than before._

"_I know you're not," Kairi whispered touching his cheek. A faint and pained gasp emitted from her lips. "But what if…I'm the one leaving?" she asked, her attention much elsewhere._

_Sora cocked an eyebrow that soon furrowed in horror as he saw Kairi sinking into the sand beneath them. Desperately, he tried to hang on to the girl who was slipping right under his fingers. Sobbing uncontrollably, Kairi extended her fingers towards Sora as she fell first into the sand, which soon became an endless pit of darkness._

"_KAIRI!" Sora yelled as a sheet of glass was soon formed between him and the violet eyed princess. He furiously banged his hands against the barrier as he saw Kairi's body fall further and further out of prospect until he lost all sight of the girl. A guttural scream erupted from the Keybearer. "WHY?" he cried, continuing to beat his fists on the glass. "WHY HER?" _

"_You stupid little fuck, you were SUPPOSED to save me!"_

_The brunette frantically looked up to see Kairi appear before him once more. The girl was covered in blood and had shards of the very same glass embedded into her soft, ivory skin. Dark circles underneath her normally luscious eyes gave her the appearance of death. _

_Sora's eyes grew in confusion. "Wha-?" he could barely even form a question._

_Kairi walked over to the man and slapped him viciously across the face. "IDIOT!" she screamed with hatred dripping from her tone. "You were given one task, and you failed even that!" the auburn beauty shouted, amidst the cries of her boyfriend. Sora wailed pitifully as it pained him beyond anything else to see the woman he loved behave in such a way. He grimaced as Kairi kicked him in his gut. "Quit being such a little pussy, Sora!" she muttered lowering herself to the man's level. A change in her behavior was noted as Kairi placed her arms around the Keybearer. _

"_I'm sorry Kairi," Sora whispered crying his eyes out. "I don't…I didn't deserve you," he murmured wincing. He clutched the bloody girl, writhing in agony from her grotesque appearance and state. _

"_There, there puppy," the princess answered with a false sweetness. She gently patted Sora's unruly hair as she dragged his face into her bosom. A few shards of glass pierced the Keyblade Master's skin at the action. _

"_Ugnnh!" Sora moaned. _

"_What? Puppy doesn't like mommy's milk?" Kairi questioned evilly. A wicked smirk appeared on the normally docile face of the girl. "Oh, but Sora, you haven't even had a taste yet have you?" she muttered into his ear as Kairi lowered her dress to reveal her bare breast. "Drink up puppy!" the red head shouted shoving Sora's mouth upon her soft mound. Despite trying to back off, Sora couldn't escape Kairi's hold on him…and at this point, he wasn't about to refuse the woman or his carnal desires. He groaned in satisfaction, relishing the taste of her nipple in his mouth. It was unlike anything he could have ever hoped for. _

"_Ooh, you like that don't you?"_

_Breathing heavily, Sora rubbed his chin upon her bust and murmured, "…yes." _

"_What about this?" Kairi asked seductively as she pierced another shard of glass into his back. Sora winced in pain. Kairi frowned at the man. "Oops!" she exclaimed dragging the piece out. The brunette screamed at the action. "Mommy's so sorry, puppy," the princess commented, pulling up the man closer to her reach. She yanked his shirt off with a violent rip; the sheer force she possessed confused Sora to no ends. The red head scooted the Keyblade Master up even further as she placed herself on top of his back. Immediately, she placed her lips towards the wound and began licking the blood that was seeping from him. The action disturbed Sora, and yet, his physical needs yearned to have Kairi defile his body in such a way. _

"_Mmm, puppy you taste delicious," Kairi moaned, her lips now ruby red. She pulled up Sora by his hair once more. "See for yourself!" she purred diving into an intense lip lock with the man. Her tongue ravaged the insides of Sora's mouth and he had no choice but to return the action since she was lying across his arms and body. The taste of his blood was nauseating, yet somehow on Kairi's sweet tongue it was bearable. _

_The auburn haired woman flipped Sora over once more, freeing his hands as she was now lying upon his bare chest. Immediately, Sora snaked his arms around his lover, using one hand to pull her closer and the other to cup her bared breast. Still keeping her lips firmly planted to his, Kairi slowly motioned her lower half of her body back and forth over him. Sora whimpered into the girl's mouth as she was now dry humping his abs. "Oh, Sora!" Kairi groaned seductively as she furthered her pace. The blue eyed hero could feel her panties starting to drip with fluids and the smell of her sex released an animalistic growl from the man._

"_What do you want?" Kairi murmured into his ear, slowly reaching for his belt buckle at the same time._

"_You," Sora whined like a toddler, kissing her with more force than before._

"_And what do you want to do with me?" the violet eyed woman asked as she pulled down Sora's pants to reveal his throbbing erection hidden inside his boxers._

"_I-I," Sora's eyes drew back as Kairi began kneading his member with her small hand. The combination of this along with her sexually laced voice nearly drove Sora to an orgasm. "I want to love you…" he whispered as Kairi finally removed his underwear._

"_Sora," she hummed, her lips barely touching the tip of his length. "What do you _really _want?" Kairi questioned opening her mouth around the head of the penis. Her breath was enough to send Sora over the edge. It probably did. _

"_I want…to fuck you," Sora answered in a dark tone._

_Kairi smiled wickedly as she placed her wet lips over his erected member. Sora groaned as he felt Kairi's hot mouth engulf his aching length. As she slowly brought her mouth up and down his shaft, Sora began to buck, thrusting his manhood further down the red head's throat. A lusty murmur released from Kairi's lip, causing Sora to quake from the vibration. "Oh God," he moaned as he felt himself about to burst._

"_C'mon puppy," Kairi whispered, now using her hands to rub his cock, "cum for mama!" _

_Just hearing those words caused Sora to give in to his burning sensations. White, hot liquid poured out from his trembling tip and onto Kairi's chest. She took two of her fingers and drenched them in his spill. Afterwards, she brought them up to her lips and sucked her fingers feverishly until there was no trace of cum left. _

_Breathing erratically, Sora could feel himself instantly harden once more from the sight. "Oh, please Kai," he begged her, inching up towards her nether regions._

_Another wicked smirk appeared on Kairi's visage. "Puppy wants more?" she questioned._

"_Yes,"_

"_How much more?"_

"_More," Sora moaned as Kairi took off her dripping panties. His gut was on fire. _

"_Aw, puppy needs to be more specific than that!" _

"_I want to fuck you," Sora repeated._

"_How badly?" Kairi murmured, about to lower herself onto his erected length. _

"_I want to fuck you senselessly," Sora growled steadying Kairi's hips above him._

"_Isn't that…inappropriate Sora?" Kairi posed the question innocently and received silence as an answer. It was the first time she sounded like herself in the past few moments. Sora shook his head, trying to rid himself of his carnal desires that seemed to take over his mind. The man quickly grew disgusted with how he was behaving. He threw Kairi to the ground next to him, never allowing himself the opportunity to penetrate her. The brunette shook her aggressively. _

"_What do you want from me?" the Keybearer shouted in despair. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he felt sorrow, anger, and lust all at the same time. The deathly looking version of his Kairi just glared at him._

"_I wanted you to realize you never loved me," she spat out sadistically. _

"_No," Sora yelled shaking her once more, "that's a lie! I've always loved you!"_

"_You said it yourself, Sora…you just wanted to fuck me senselessly. And you couldn't even do that now could you?"_

_Sora pushed himself off the girl and grabbed his clothes. Kairi ran over to him and started to gently massage the man, much to his irritation. "You're just a shell of her," Sora snapped, bringing the girl about face._

"_But I could be more," Kairi whispered into his ear._

_She couldn't do anything further as Sora violently slapped her to the ground. She laughed maniacally while tears spilled from her face. "Look at the great Keyblade Master now!" the ghastly figure grinned. "Beating the one woman he's ever loved to the ground while failing to protect her…nay, even _satisfy _her in bed!" her violet eyes flickered with an evil glow._

_Sora stood horrified at his actions and began to back away. "No, no…" he muttered to himself. "This isn't real, YOU'RE not real!" the brunette shouted._

"_I'm as close to real as you're going to get, hun," Kairi answered in a crazed tone. "And here, in this chaotic little realm we'll call your mind is where you will have to live with the fact that I can't live!"_

_The blue eyed man immediately turned away from the almost zombie-like version of Kairi that was haunting him so. No matter how far he ran, her voice was still the same volume in his ears. "Where will you go? You can't escape from your own mind!" Kairi's voice yelled tormenting him. _

_Sora began to cry. "I have to try!" he screamed shutting his eyes and running even faster. "I HAVE TO!" he repeated even more pained than before. Suddenly, the Keyblade Master tripped and fell flat on his face. He opened his cerulean tinted orbs to find himself on the beach once more. This time, the scene was another familiar one, yet it happened to be the night of Kairi's murder. Sora watched in anguish as he saw himself, Vulcan, and a normal looking Kairi replay the motions he knew oh so well. _

_**"I'm just going to put it layman's terms; I've come for the girl. Not to take her, but to kill her."**_

_**Fear was an obvious sight in Kairi's eyes. Sora growled at Vulcan. "Over my dead body!" He snapped.**_

_**"You know that can be arranged," Vulcan answered with a vicious grin. He took out a twisted looking weapon. "Anytime you're ready hero..."**_

_**"Sora don't…" Kairi whispered. Something didn't seem right about the bludgeon.**_

"_Don't!" Sora yelled to his figure knowing full well the outcome of his actions. But it was no use; his past self ignored his and Kairi's pleas and charged at Vulcan with full force. He watched in horror as he saw himself be suspended in air only to be thrown across the beach seconds later. His gut churned as his attention turned towards Kairi. "No, no…" Sora muttered breathlessly as he heard Kairi cry out his name. _

_"Don't worry Princess," Vulcan whispered as caressed her cheek, "it'll be over in a second."_

_Almost immediately, Sora got up and tried to run over towards the two. "Kairi!" he yelled speeding up, but it was no use. The scene that had tormented him so terribly repeated itself once more in front of him. He dropped to his knees in agonizing grief. "Kairi!" Sora shouted out, tears slipping radically from his eyes. _

"_Sora," he heard her whisper. _

_The brunette inched closer to his dying fiancée and tried to cradle her but she became holographic and unable to clutch. In vain, the man kept trying to brush her hair, stroke her cheek…just _some _form of contact with the red head. _

"_Waste of your last breath princess," he heard Vulcan mutter._

_Snarling, Sora got up and attempted to grab Kairi's murderer, yet like the girl, he was also transparent. Completely exasperated at the whole situation, the Keybearer fell back onto the sand. "I'm never going to escape this…am I?" he whispered bitterly. Sora cried harder, knowing that once he woke up, he wouldn't have the opportunity to do so._

"_Kairi," he murmured with the utmost affection, "please…please forgive me."_

"_Sora?"_

_His blue eyes turned towards Kairi as he saw her mouth moving, yet a foreign voice coming out from the woman._

"_Sora!"_

_

* * *

_

Roxas fervently shook his somebody who was drenched in sweat. "Sora!" he repeated for about the tenth time. A similar pair of eyes that matched his own soon opened. Roxas sighed.

"Sora, you were having a nightmare…" he whispered to the brunette.

Sora pushed off his nobody. "You don't need to tell me that!" he snapped. His face softened when he realized how cruel he was acting towards Roxas. Sora's lip quivered. "I'm sorry," he barely spoke aloud.

The blonde waved his hand. "It's not a big deal," he said. A small grin appeared on his face. "I'm cranky when I first wake up too!"

After a few seconds to absorb the comment, Sora allowed himself to smirk a bit. "You're being far too kind for your own good," he stated to the other man, "_Lord knows I don't deserve it," _he mused.

"A feeble attempt at existing," Roxas replied.

"You're not too shabby," Sora answered getting up from the floor. He stretched and collected his things. "I'm going to circle this floor and make sure no one's entering through one of the back ways," he told Roxas. His counterpart blinked.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No!" Sora shouted, but quickly lowered his voice. "I-I mean, Aurora needs to be guarded," he murmured quietly, "I promised her she'd be safe with us. I need to walk this stupid nightmare off anyhow."

Roxas nodded. "Just don't hurt yourself, okay?" he said with a hint of concern.

Sora's smirk grew as he spoke, "What, you're worried about me Rox?"

"Nah," Roxas joked waving his hand, "but I do kind of need a body to go back to if you know what I mean. Wouldn't do me any good if you weren't around."

"Nice to know you care,"

"Isn't it though?"

A small chuckle emitted from Sora. He gathered his things as he made his way down the extravagant hallway. "Notify me if anything goes wrong," the brunette said fading from Roxas' view.

Once again, his hands were strung along the decorated walls. Sora shook his head as he tried to calm his mind. "I can't even dream about you," he whispered sadly, "it always just ends up as a nightmare…"

Sora made his way up and down the electric lift station. So many years earlier, he hated the confounded maze as it confused him to no ends. At this moment, however, he appreciated the complexity of it all as it allowed Sora to truly go to a place to be by himself. Sora found himself outside the grand foyer and took a seat at the castle's edge. More than once he had fallen off the sides in an attempt to strike a flying heartless. Sora stared out into the night and gazed at the rising falls that were well below him.

"I could just jump off right now and forget to glide," he whispered, "and that would be the end of it," Sora confessed aloud. He held one of his knees towards his chest. "Of course I can't do that, now can I Kairi?" the brunette asked looking up towards the sky. His face scrunched as he felt his nose getting runny. "This Keyblade," he started off saying, calling for the weapon to his hands, "this damn thing has gotten me into so much trouble," Sora whispered bitterly.

"If it wasn't for this, _you'd _still be here,"

"Typical man, blaming everything on something else!"

Sora's eyes lit up in shock as he turned to see a caramel colored girl with hair color matching her skin. Her dark brown eyes were big, and focused on him. "Who are you?" he asked getting up. The girl nearly blended in with the shadowy background.

"Nalon," she started off with a flip of her hair, "and YOU must be Sora!"

His stood, not intimidated by her in the least bit. "And if I am?" Sora asked annoyed.

Nalon took a step towards him and analyzed his figure. "I just heard you were looking for me and several other members of my group," she began. A giggle escaped her glossed lips. "I just thought I'd pay you a visit!" Nalon stated almost mockingly.

Her opponent glared. "You're one of them, aren't you?"

"That would be correct…"

"So what are you doing here?"

"We're here for Aurora, who else?"

"Not if I can help it," Sora spat out. He matched her circling movements, not letting his guard down at all.

"Now, now…" Nalon replied with her hands in the air, "there's no need for _you _to get involved."

"It's a little late for that!" Sora snarled, thinking of the hardships he already faced within the time span of a solitary week. Nalon's eyes looked up and down Sora's frame.

"Oh right," she began, "you're kind of stuck helping them out aren't you?" the girl added. "You know, you're not the only Keyblade Master in the universe; why is it that it's YOUR responsibility?"

"Because your ridiculous employee Vulcan has already affected the course of my entire life!" Sora shouted back. "I won't let him or any of you get away with Kairi's death! The same goes for Snow, Aerith and Cinderella!"

"Ooh, you are a cutie!" Nalon giggled, "Especially when you're angry! It shows a sexy side to the normally chaste Sora…" she continued pushing her breasts together. Her brown eyes twinkled. "I can see why your princess was so enamored with you," she murmured.

The Keybearer recoiled. "What did you just say?" he shouted with his keyblade drawn.

"Tell me," Nalon started off saying, "after Vulcan took her heart, did you screw her corpse? They're always the easiest when they can't protest!"

"Go fuck yourself!" Sora yelled hoarsely. He gripped his keyblade so tightly to the point where his nails were digging into his palms. The breaths emitting from his lips were harsh and unsteady.

Nalon laughed contemptuously. "Well, someone certainly has a naughty mouth!" she called out with a finger in the air.

Sora grunted taking a swipe at the woman but she merely tilted her head to the side. "You shouldn't let your anger get the best of you, Keyblade Master," Nalon muttered. This only infuriated Sora even more as he took another jab at her. This time he made a hit. "Ugh you little cockroach!" Nalon yelled unleashing her own weapon. She pulled out a long, extendable pole with a metal tip. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" she screamed returning Sora's thrusts. Her blade pierced his shoulder slightly, taking off a small portion of skin.

"Damn it," Sora cursed under his breath.

Nalon smirked. "Told you!" she shouted trying to get another stab. Sora, though, anticipated the move and smashed her pole with his keyblade, bringing them both to a standstill.

"Hmm, you're more resourceful than I gave you credit for," Nalon muttered.

"Shut up," Sora grunted trying to maintain his hold over her weapon, "what are you and your other demented friends planning?"

"Demented? Aw you're quite the meany!"

Sora bumped his head against the girl's forehead knocking her down. He then pulled the Oathkeeper to her neck. "Answer me!" he shouted.

The caramel haired woman just perked an eyebrow. "Would you really hurt a girl?" she asked innocently. She released a choking noise when Sora pressed further into her neck.

"I've hurt my fair share of 'em," the Keybearer replied.

Nalon tried to pull back in order to speak. "I-I don't think…you're ready to hear that just…yet," she muttered, creating a black portal on the ground that she was falling through. "Take care, Sora!" Nalon rang out disappearing.

The Keyblade Master let out an aggravated yell as she slipped away. Though gone, Sora could still hear her taunting laughter. "You'd better check on the princess, Sora…" she said echoing, "you never know what could happen!"

With that, Sora immediately hightailed it back towards the chamber. However, Hollow Bastion being the maze that it was, it would be some time before he'd be able to make it there. "_Roxas, I'm counting on you!" _ he thought as he raced back.

Meanwhile, Roxas closed his eyes for a moment. He was far more tired than he originally thought. And since Sora wasn't back yet, he knew that he needed to at least attempt to stay awake. However, the second that happened, Roxas heard a huge crashing sound coming from inside Aurora's room. Springing to his feet, the nobody desperately tried to open the door but found it to be locked tight. "Shit!" he muttered fussing with the knob.

"Get out of here!" he heard Phillip yell.

"Who are you!" was what Aurora called out in fear.

"The name's Vulcan," Roxas heard a man say in a vicious timbre. He gasped as he recognized the identity of the intruder. "_That's the guy who killed Kairi!" _

Harder than before, Roxas attempted to break in, this time now ramming his body against the door. Overhearing some banter that he couldn't make out, Roxas panicked when Aurora screamed forcefully. "_No, no, no!" _he pushed the door one last time as hard as he could until finally Roxas just took out his keyblade and hacked it open. Bursting in, Roxas analyzed what was going on.

"Aurora!" Roxas shouted. He stared in horror as the scene he ran in on was Vulcan's twisted weapon being retracted from Phillip's lifeless form. The blonde was sweating in fear as he heard Aurora's desperate cries.

"Phillip! Phillip!" she wailed miserably.

"Don't worry princess," Vulcan murmured with a faux affection, "you'll see him soon."

Roxas growled at the man. "If you lay a finger on her, I swear I will _not _hesitate to rip you to shreds!"

Vulcan laughed in an almost maniacal way. "You know, that's pretty funny," he said darkly, "your counterpart was so defiant in the same manner."

Roxas' eyes lit up as he realized Vulcan knew _exactly _who he was.

"That obvious, huh?"

"You both have the same pathetic look of bravery about you, nobody," Vulcan muttered, "it would take a moron to realize that you aren't similar."

Another keyblade appeared in Roxas' hands. "We're a lot alike," Roxas began with a smirk, "but I'm actually the darker of the two of us."

Another chuckle permeated the thick tension in the room. "You see this, Princess?" Vulcan laughed at the crying Aurora who was still cradling Phillip's dead body. "This is a great example of irony at its finest!" he exclaimed. Aurora glared at the vicious murderer.

"There is _nothing _ironic about you being put in your place you monster!" she shouted. Her anger and sorrow were substituting her fear with bravery at the moment.

Vulcan's fingers grasped the beautiful woman's chin. "A gorgeous, quiet princess is rather common, but you? You're the rare spitfire that I just adore discovering…" he stated wickedly.

"Hands off her I said!" Roxas screamed knocking Vulcan down to the floor. The sudden move frightened Aurora into letting out another cry.

Vulcan, though stunned by the move, still laughed. He admired the blood that seeped out from his head injury. "You got a hit!" the dark eyed man exclaimed. Rising up, Roxas prepared himself once more and stepped in front of Aurora.

"I have good aim," Roxas snarled.

"Tell me," Vulcan started off amusingly, "did you get to see Naminé die?"

The light blue eyes that belonged to Roxas glistened with uneasiness. "Wha…?" he couldn't even form the question. Vulcan chuckled.

"Sora saw everything but you? You probably were sleeping away as she disappeared…"

"How…how did you know about-?"

Vulcan took this moment to approach Roxas. "What you and your somebody fail to understand is we have done our research on you and all of the princesses," he snarled drawing out his weapon once more, "we were more than aware of your existence, although I must say I never expected to see you myself!" another laugh emitted from the man's lips. Roxas scowled at the move. Vulcan inched forward. "Tell me then, Roxas," he began gingerly, "did you get to see her as she faded?"

"…"

"You didn't, did you?"

"How was _I _supposed to know you'd rip the most important thing away from me then?" Roxas screamed, his eyes watering up.

"Ever hear the saying, 'Be prepared for anything?' Well…" Vulcan took this moment to pierce an unsuspecting Aurora's heart.

"NO!" Roxas screamed.

"…they meant it," Vulcan whispered harshly as he extracted the bludgeon. Roxas heard Aurora's heavy breaths become convoluted and pained. The Keybearer dropped his weapons in order to cradle the princess.

"Hang on Aurora, please just hang on," he whispered stroking her hair.

Her blue eyes glistened. "Whe-where's Sora?" she murmured. Roxas' face contorted accordingly at the remark.

"He…he should be here soon," Roxas said gently, "he's fending off someone else I'm sure."

"Succeeding too," he heard Vulcan comment casually. "Nalon had to retreat," he muttered opening a dark portal. Roxas snarled, but knew he couldn't go after Vulcan because that would mean leaving Aurora. Vulcan's ears lit up as he heard rampaging footsteps make their way into the hall. "Ah! Here he comes; give him my regards, won't you?" he laughed as he stepped through the dark path.

"The bastard," Roxas spat angrily. He clutched Aurora tighter as he saw her choke up some blood. "Please!" he called out in frustration. "SOMEBODY HELP!" Roxas yelled as Aurora started to close her eyes.

"Roxas," she whispered, "…that's your name, correct?"

"Yeah…it is," he responded sadly.

A small smile appeared on the princesses' face. "You look, just like him," she murmured.

"Because he's me," Roxas said softly.

Aurora's eyes twinkled one last time. "He promised he'd be here…and he is," she said touching Roxas' hand. "Thank you for coming," Aurora whispered. Her hand went limp a moment later as Roxas lightly shook the woman.

"No, no! Aurora don't close your eyes!"

"Phillip? Is that you?"

"Aurora wait!"

"I'm here Phillip…I'm here…"

Roxas grimaced as Aurora's eyes fell back into her head. He painfully let his standstill tears release out from his eyes. "Oh no," he muttered lowering his face. His head turned towards the door as he heard footsteps coming to a halt.

"No!" he heard Sora shout coming towards the two. The brunette stood aghast as he saw the two dead bodies on the bed. Sora looked Roxas straight in the eye.

"What happened?"

"I-I…" Roxas couldn't formulate the words. More tears just spilled down his face. "I couldn't do a thing," he whispered, ashamed.

Sora dropped to his knees as they were joined by the rest of the Hollow Bastion residents. Everyone gasped at the sight. Leon tried to cover Yuffie's eyes and Cloud stood completely in awe along with Cid, Merlin and Tifa.

They couldn't tell what was more disturbing; seeing the deceased princess and prince, or watching the two Keyblade Masters at their most vulnerable state.

Between Sora and Roxas' wails, they had to go with the latter.

* * *

Yowsa! Well, this was certainly a thorough chapter…not that it makes up for the lack of updates but I do like to think that most of you enjoyed it. I really hate killing off these princesses; they're all such dolls! However, like with Kairi and Naminé's deaths, they're crucial to the plot. And Aerith! Poor Aerith…I originally planned to keep her alive, but I guess I've grown far more angst-filled than before. Honestly though, if I keep finding ways to insert more tragedy into this fic it just might exploded.

I typically don't delve into lemon territory but a bit of lime makes for an interesting experiment methinks. Although, I do have to say I am flushing a bit. I apologize if anything sounds completely awful…a bit rusty! Haha! Well let's see what's next, shall we?

**Next Chapter: **Sora and Roxas venture to Wonderland to protect Alice, however, the fanciful world is not at all like they remember. And Sora is about to discover his own twisted little wonderland…in the form of someone's flesh.

Many thanks to my reviewers; your words of encouragement keep this story alive. You all know who you are. Thanks for your patience as well!

Love,

SonChan

PS: Listening to "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold , "Jesus Christ" by Brand New and "Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette were surprisingly helpful for this chapter heheehehe

PSS: Never listen to "Roxas' Theme" while writing…far too depressing!


	5. Wonderful Misery

Rancoeur du Coeur 

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, or any part of Disney or Square-Enix. I own the million of OOC's you will be seeing inside this story and the story idea. Also, the idea of Wonderland in this chapter is based upon American McGee's "Alice". Fantastic game if you'd like to take a whack at it. All creepy crawlies were from that game which I sadly don't own anymore.

**Authors Note:** Thank you so much everyone for the lovely reviews. It was truly a blessing. I'm glad to see that this story has interested you. I hope I continue to do a decent job. LOL funny side story, so apparently Vulcan is the name of Spock's race in Star Trek and I named the character without making that connection; BONUS POINTS: Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock voices Master Xehanort is BBS. Fun facts for all!

I'm going to go back and revise the first three chapters properly since I was but a wee highschooler then. Oy, are they painful to look at now. **Oh, and just a word of advice, my fics are best viewed in the 3/4 format.** It's much easier on the eyes.

This is another sexually laced chapter so please take heed!

**DETAILED SUMMARY:** To Sora, life was as perfect as it could be. He was engaged to Kairi, a well-respected Keyblade bearer, and just a happy go-lucky 21 year old. That was, until a new cult of fallen Keyblade wielders decided to eliminate the Princesses of Hearts. Helpless to save her, Sora vows to avenge Kairi's murder anyway he can, even if it means giving into darkness. And Roxas, who had lost Naminé when Kairi was killed, secedes from Sora to help him in his cause. But as they get closer to reaching their goal, Roxas starts to realize the consequences of what he and Sora intend to do. SK RN

**QUICK SUMMARY:** He couldn't protect her, but he would avenge her. SK RN

* * *

**Chapter 5: **Wonderful Misery

**(Warning-sexual tones in this chapter!)**

**Disney Castle Library, 3:12 pm **

Riku idly sat at his post within the Disney Castle; his boredom had prompted him to attempt to count the tiny circles in the ceiling. He was on 1,982 dots when King Mickey entered the room.

"Hey, Riku? You busy?"

The aquamarine eyed man focused on the royal mouse. He shook his head adamantly. "Not in the slightest, your majesty," Riku responded in his uninterested tone. The silver haired man had been getting increasingly fidgety just standing around doing nothing. He was far too worried about Sora and Roxas and how their mission was going and the fact that he wished he was with them at the moment.

The King approached him and took a seat. "You're worried about them," he stated the obvious.

Giving off a wry smile, Riku knew that King Mickey was far too intuitive for his own good. "That would be correct," he murmured in response.

"I understand," his superior replied, "but I'd like to think that the two of them are doing okay."

A sigh escaped the bodyguard's lips. "I hope so…" he started off saying, "but your majesty," Riku exhaled once more trying to find the best word choice. "What if…what if…something happens?" he questioned.

Mickey's eyes grew wide. "Like what?" he conjectured.

"Like," Riku sighed again, "what if Sora starts to lose himself? Like I once did?"

The King placed one of his hands on Riku's shoulder. "I recognize your concerns and they are more than valid," he began softly, "but have a little faith in Sora; he's pulled through more times than one! And Roxas is with him too!"

A frown appeared on Riku's visage. "But without Kairi," Riku couldn't even finish his sentence. "Sora's had to go through some things that I don't even want to imagine, but losing Kairi by far is worst than any other trial," he explained.

"You're right," Mickey muttered. He turned sadly towards Riku. "Do you think that…he's in danger of losing himself, Riku?" the mouse wondered aloud.

"Anything's possible when you lose the one you care about the most," Riku murmured.

Mickey wanted to express his similar fears to the silver haired man, yet found himself compelled to put a bit more trust in Sora's capabilities. Darkness was a strange and dangerous thing, but so was light in a twisted way. "Sora believes he's lost his light, yet he's been so chock full of it," The King said, bemused.

"We'll find out soon enough at least," Riku sighed. He got up to stretch a bit. "Any clues on this Vulcan guy or his employers?" the Keyblade fighter questioned.

"Nothing," Mickey responded sadly.

Riku let out an aggravated sigh. "Your highness," he pleaded, "can't I try to help Sora and Roxas?"

The King had to shake his head at the request. "Riku," he began warily, "I-I can't let you get caught up in their affairs," Mickey spoke.

"And why is that?"

"Because," King Mickey paused himself before continuing, "if they are starting to succumb to darkness, I don't want you to have to be there to witness it."

"Well maybe I _need _to be there to prevent it!" Riku answered in a rather animated tone. It took both Mickey and him by surprise. Riku quickly bowed his head. "I'm sorry Mickey," he muttered in a quieter voice.

His boss gently touched his arm. "I know it's hard, Riku…" the royal rodent said.

"Sora…he just…" Riku sighed again, "if he's to change for the worst…then what does that accomplish?"

"Maybe he won't…"

"But what if he _does_?"

Mickey frowned. "Riku, I-I-" he started off saying but the two were interrupted by Goofy and Donald rushing in.

"Your majesty!" Donald quacked alarmed.

"Whoa, there fellas! What's all the commotion about?" the King inquired.

Goofy took some time to breathe before responding, "Leon's on the videotron! He says it's urgent!"

A distressed look appeared on Mickey's face. "This can't be good," the mouse murmured. He reached over to the wall and pressed a button unleashing a wide screen into the room. Pressing another one, Mickey turned on the screen to see Leon before them.

"Your Highness," Leon bowed quickly, "there's…there's been a situation."

"I was afraid there was," Mickey confessed.

"What happened?" Riku asked eagerly.

Leon had to take a breath and formulate the proper way to inform the men of Aurora's untimely demise. "We," the Lionheart had to turn away for a second, "we failed to protect Aurora…"

The four Disney Castle residents looked at one another and bowed their heads slightly. "Oh poor Aurora," Donald muttered with sorrow.

"Phillip is also dead," Leon added, trying not to sound harsh while doing so. The brunette cleared his throat. "We buried them in the garden this morning," he continued.

Riku clenched his fist. "Are Sora and Roxas alright?" the silverette questioned frantically.

The man on the screen nodded. "As good as can be expected," Leon muttered. He folded his arms, like he always did in such occasions. "Roxas was there when it happened and he's taking it rather hard. Sora was caught up fighting one of those members outside," he continued trying to mention all the minute details.

King Mickey sighed and paced about the room. "This is far worse than I had imagined," he revealed to the other men, "and we still haven't a clue about who is even behind all of this."

"We're trying our hardest on our end," Leon assured.

"Apparently not hard enough!" Riku managed to snap.

"Riku!" the King chastised his bodyguard. Leon merely ignored the outburst.

"We have Merlin looking in the library along with Yuffie and Tifa. Cloud offered to go out by himself and investigate but I honestly don't know what else we could do given the circumstances," he continued.

"No, no," Mickey put up one of his hands, "you've all done more than necessary," he said sending a cool glare at Riku, who wasn't the least bit apologetic. "What matters the most at this moment is the other princesses' safety," he added.

"Because of the danger of transporting them here, we've alerted Aladdin and Adam about the danger Jasmine and Belle are in," Leon responded, "however, we haven't been able to reach Alice. I believe that's where Sora and Roxas are headed next."

"Then so am I," Riku whispered turning out towards the door.

"Oh no you aren't!" Mickey exclaimed running in front of Riku. "I have a new mission for you!" he declared blocking Riku from the exit each time he tried to pass the mouse.

The silver haired man threw his arms up in surrender. "Fine, what is it then?" he wondered.

King Mickey let out a tiny, triumphant smile. "You go ahead and meet up with Cloud and see if you guys can check around the Underworld," he answered.

"The Underworld?" Goofy questioned confused. "Gawrsh, what do you think they'll find there, your majesty?"

"Hades should know a thing or two, of that I am certain," Mickey mused aloud, "if not, then he can summon the fates to help us."

"But isn't that muddling?"

"Meddling, Goofy!"

"Er, right! Meddling?"

King Mickey exhaled noisily. "Yes…yes it is," he began aware of what he was requesting, "however, given the circumstances I'm afraid this may be our only option fellas."

Riku was still looking at the ground, arms folded. "If you think that would be where I'm most needed then I'll do it," the teal eyed man muttered, clearly upset still.

Leon nodded on the screen. "I'll inform Cloud then to meet you at Disney Castle and you two can go from there," he said bowing once more.

"Thanks for all of your help, Leon!" The King stated graciously.

"I'm just sorry we can't be of more help," the Lionheart replied. His attention turned to Cloud entering in the room. "Hey, we've got an assignment for you," Leon muttered to his companion.

"Lucky me," Cloud responded sarcastically.

"You have the pleasure of joining Riku there in going to the Underworld," Leon stated pointing towards the screen on his end.

"The Underworld?" Cloud questioned suspiciously, "but isn't that-?"

"See if you can make a deal with Hades," Leon murmured under his breath to the blonde man. He didn't want the others hearing at what he was hinting at.

Cloud caught on almost immediately. "Right," he breathed quietly. The spiky haired SOLDIER looked into the screen. "Riku, I'll meet you at the castle as soon as I can get there," Cloud promised.

"Be quick," Riku answered curtly finally exiting the room. Mickey shook his head.

"Gosh guys, I'm sorry for Riku's behavior," the King stated, "he's just also hurting right now as you can imagine."

"Yeah," Cloud replied sadly, "I can…" and with those words he himself headed towards the door. "Don't tell Tifa where I'm going," Cloud had Leon promise. Before the other man could respond, the blonde had already vacated the room.

Leon faced the camera once more. "I'll let Sora and Roxas know what's going on," he said.

"Just…leave out the details about the Underworld," Mickey commented quietly.

"How come?"

"I don't want Sora getting any ideas,"

Leon gulped a bit as he realized his suggestion to Cloud was exactly what the King did not want happening. But could he blame them for wanting to try the damnable?

"I'll be sure to leave it out of conversation," Leon assured.

Mickey nodded back to the man. "Thanks Leon, we'll speak again soon…hopefully because of some better news!" King Mickey tried to chime positively.

"Let's hope so," Leon responded before the screen faded to black.

Donald and Goody approached the royal mouse. "Your majesty," the former of the two began, "are you sure we can't help?"

The King looked sadly at his two most trusted men. He remembered that if Sora were to fall, he didn't want these two in particular to see such a transformation. Mickey knew he needed to honor that. "I'm sorry Donald, but I need ya both here," he lied only a bit.

"Whatever it takes!" Goofy shouted saluting the King. "If it'll help Sora then we're more than happy the stay here…hyuck!" he clucked.

Mickey beamed at the dedication to friendship the three shared. He knew that so long as Sora had his friends who cared enough about him, then maybe he wouldn't be so quick to fall. Mickey calmly tapped the two's shoulders signifying they could go about their own ways for now. Donald and Goofy responded with a bow as they exited. The King himself walked outside of the library and turned to look over the terrace out into the garden. He noticed Riku was perched on top of one of the hedges looking towards the sky. Mickey wanted to comfort and reprimand the man all at the same time for his behavior, but he knew that Riku was just worried about his friend.

"_We all are_," Mickey thought to himself. He also looked towards the cloudless sky and sighed. "Sora, Roxas…please stay strong," the mouse murmured.

* * *

**Hollow Bastion, 3:30 pm**

As hard as Sora was taking Aurora's death, Roxas was taking it much harder. The two were left to themselves in their room with the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee kind enough to leave well enough alone. Both handled their own respective grief over the situation differently. Because of Sora's promise not to cry anymore, he refused to shed any tears. Although, it could be said that Roxas was shedding enough for the both of them.

"C'mon, Rox," Sora muttered somewhat sympathetically, "you gotta snap out of this."

His Nobody simply decided to lay on his other side away from the man. "Not now Sora…" Roxas murmured. His silent tears were staining the pillow sheet.

Sora let out a disgusted scoff. "Look, I'm not trying to sound like an asshole," he began, "but there was nothing you could have done to save her. Vulcan would have found a way to kill her anyways."

Roxas sat up and looked Sora square in the eye with a long forgotten glare he possessed once. "Oh, so when that logic isn't applied to _you…_you dish it out?" he spat out. His face softened as he saw Sora's eyes dwindle downwards.

"Sora…I-"

"No, you're right," Sora said quietly.

His Nobody got up and put his hand on his somebody's shoulder. "No, that was cruel of me," he began. The man sighed. "It's just…it's just that I felt so helpless…" Roxas commented.

"Sucks, doesn't it?"

"You know my sympathy for you is starting to go out the window,"

The brunette shrugged. "Who said I needed it?" he remarked cattily.

Roxas' eyes grew wide at Sora's manner. "What's with you? You change emotions faster than a Bouncywild."

Amused, Sora raised an eyebrow. "So says the crying Nobody," the brunette retorted with a smirk.

With a rather harsh glare, Roxas brought his arm to wipe away whatever wetness remained on his cheek. "Look just forget it," the blonde stated.

"Already have," Sora commented with a wave of his hand. He started to gather his things. "We need to get moving, Roxas…" he muttered as he turned for the door.

"Just like that?"

"Just like _what_?"

"Just like that we're off again?" Roxas inquired, arms folded.

Sora scoffed a bit. "We have a job to do," he muttered growing angry, "you know that!"

A flicker of pain was panging Roxas' deep, blue eyes. "Yeah, and I've already failed that…" the blonde whispered sadly. Sora rolled his eyes.

"Fine, beat yourself up over it," he responded unkindly, "that's your own business. Me? I'm going to go try to save Alice from suffering the same fate as the other four. If you want to mope around here forever then be my guest."

The Keyblade Master huffed off into the hallway leaving Roxas alone in their room. The Nobody turned around to face the vanity; his reflection stared at him from where he stood. "You think it's so easy?" Roxas snapped at the mirror. He blinked when he realized he was taking his frustration from Sora out on his measly reflection. The blonde sighed as he approached the glass. He took a good, hard look at the man in the mirror. "I could have saved her," Roxas murmured to the inanimate copy of himself, "I could have saved both of them…" he glared as he gazed at the mirror once more and found that he was smashing it to pieces seconds later.

Roxas always referred to himself as the darker part of Sora's heart. As a Nobody, it was to be expected. But something he realized very quickly since returning to the realm of existence was that Roxas' demeanor had drastically changed since being with Naminé. No longer was he bitter or upset, the blonde had become contented with his circumstance and felt no more need for such negative emotions. Yet, ever since everything that happened within the past week, Roxas felt a dark urge forming in his gut.

"Is…is this my pain?" he asked himself placing his hand to where a heart would normally be. His ears perked up when he heard footsteps running in.

"Everything okay here?" it was Yuffie frantically looking around for any signs of danger.

The Nobody then realized his one hand was bleeding slightly and there was a massive amount of broken glass on the floor. "Oh," he murmured, "I'm sorry Yuffie…I thought I saw something," Roxas partially lied.

Yuffie shook her head and grabbed a broom out of the closet. "Ah, you're fine, don't worry about the mess," the ninja stated as she dipped down to clean the shards. Roxas continued to stare at his bloody hand. The girl raised her eyebrow curiously. "You should probably clean that out," Yuffie suggested in a motherly way.

Still somewhat distracted, Roxas jerked his head towards the kunoichi. "Huh?"

The ebony girl giggled a bit. "So it doesn't get infected?" she continued amused.

"Right," Roxas nodded slowly making his way to the bathroom next to the bedroom. He washed his hand off and was suddenly taken back to another memory of Naminé.

"_OW!" Roxas screamed as Naminé applied the peroxide to his wounded side. _

_The pretty blonde shook her head disparagingly. "Honestly, Roxas!" she rebuked, "What have I told you about doing those crazy stunts on your skateboard? You're going to hurt yourself one of these days!"_

_Roxas winced at her yelling. "What do you call this?" he sardonically responded pointing to his injury. _

_Naminé promptly slapped the aforementioned cut. _

"_OW!"_

"_You need to stop scaring me like this!"_

_Naminé frowned as she started to bandage the man up. She sniffled a bit. "I'm always so afraid something terrible is going to happen to you and that I'm not going to be able to patch you up," the blonde confessed vulnerably. _

_A pair of blue eyes matching her own looked towards the ground. "I'm sorry Nam," he genuinely apologized. Naminé slowly tied the ends on the bandage together._

"_It's okay Roxas," she said as she used her teeth to finish off the roll of healing tape, "but you have to promise me that you'll start being a little more careful next time alright?"_

_Roxas hopped off the table after his injury was attended to. He drew the petite girl in for a deep embrace. "I promise," he murmured sweetly. Naminé set her first aid kit down to fully return the hug._

"_Good," she started off saying, "because I don't even want to _think _of what a life without you would be like."_

_The man scooped her up in his arms. "You'll never have to Nam," he said gingerly, "because I'll always have my beautiful nurse to aid me back to proper health," Roxas added as he carried her towards their bedroom. _

"_Hah, Roxas what are you…?"_

"_C'mon Nurse Naminé, let's play doctor!"_

"_Someone's made a full recovery!" Naminé whispered coyly as Roxas set her down on the bed. She lovingly touched his bare chest. The blonde admired the man's impressive form as she let her hands trail downwards. Roxas brushed his lips against hers. _

"_It's because you're the best medicine anyone could ever ask for…"_

Roxas found himself staring at his reflection once more, although it was an entirely different mirror…one he didn't intend to smash to bits. He looked at his hand and thought it thoroughly scrubbed. A sigh passed his lips. "Naminé," Roxas breathed affectionately. He looked at the mirror once more and knew exactly why he had to press forwards. In order to properly seek justice for Naminé's untimely death, Roxas had to continue trying to stop these madmen from causing even more harm. Taking in a stark breath, Roxas made his way out of the room with a new resolve.

"Thanks for cleaning this up, Yuffie!" he chimed as he headed into the hallway.

Yuffie had opened her mouth to respond but Roxas had already left. She shrugged. "Sure, not a problem!" she continued the conversation to herself. "I'm used to cleaning up after messy men anyways," the ninja added rather annoyed at her circumstances.

"Sora!" Roxas ran outside of the castle to find Sora, Leon and Cid all standing in front of the Highlander.

A small, satisfied look appeared on Sora's visage. "Seems like someone's finished wallowing in their self-pity," he muttered with a smirk.

Roxas let out a cheeky grin. "Yeah, yeah…" he teased back.

Leon coughed, signaling that he wanted resume his little chat. "As I was saying, go ahead and get to Wonderland. We're going to see if we can find a way to track these freaks," he said to Sora.

The Keybearer nodded. "Got it," he replied.

"Now, I updated yer gummi for ya so it has an automated landing option," Cid interjected pointing towards the Highlander.

"That'll come in handy," Roxas chuckled remembering their earlier collision.

Sora raised his brow towards Leon. "Have you told the King about what happened?" he wondered, thinking of the atrocious even that had befallen them earlier.

"Yeah, I've updated him," the Lionheart replied, "he just said to press forward and try to find out as much information as you can while protecting the girls. He's pulling all of his resources back at Disney to make sure we figure out this mystery."

The two men nodded, fully understanding the task that lied before them. "Well, thanks for putting us up," Sora stated shaking Leon's hand.

"For you Sora, it's never a problem," he answered returning the handshake. The older man leaned in to whisper something in the Keyblade Master's ear. Sora's eyes widened and Roxas had absolutely no idea what had just occurred. He blinked as the two men separated.

"Let's go Roxas," Sora immediately stated walking towards the ship.

Just as confused as before, Roxas quickly glanced at Leon and Cid and waved goodbye as he joined Sora in the gummi ship. "So what did Leon tell you?" the blonde inquired as he strapped himself in this time around.

Sora clicked his own seatbelt. "It wasn't important," he muttered as he turned on the ignition.

"Destination: Wonderland, prepare for takeoff," the computer stated.

Roxas put his head back and decided to forget wondering about the remark.

"_We may have a way to reverse all of this," Leon murmured._

Vowing not to get his hopes up, Sora still clung to the comment and all of its possibilities

* * *

Much like the last time, the journey for the two men was silent. Instead of fighting it this time, Roxas used the moment of solitude and pulled out a small, star shaped charm. He smiled as his fingers traced over the yellow piece of plastic. Naminé had given it to him on one of their first outings. The blonde never let the charm out of his grasp, especially now that she was gone. He held it close as he tried to dwell on a happier time.

Sora, while piloting the ship, managed to turn his head towards Roxas and noticed the trinket. His eyes expanded when the charm brought back a long, forgotten memory.

"Where…where did you get that?" the Keybearer asked aloud.

His Nobody quickly drew his focus away from his hands to Sora's bewildered face. "Naminé, why?" he wondered.

The brunette kept silent. "It's…it's nice," he muttered. He didn't dare say that not only had he seen the charm before, but that it was an integral part of the Organization's plan to use Naminé in twisting Sora's memory. Roxas didn't need to know about that part of Naminé's life…even if she had already revealed what she had done in the past. Sora looked up curiously. Come to think of it, he never really asked Roxas about Naminé and her life after Castle Oblivion.

"So, you and Naminé were…" Sora surprisingly started off saying. He paused trying to think of the best way to word the question. "…you were close right?"

Roxas almost shot his companion a sour look until he realized Sora was genuinely interested and not trying to mock the man. He nodded turning his head to look at the stars beyond the gummi. "Just as close as you and Kairi were," Roxas murmured. The blonde clutched the seat handle next to him. "Maybe even more so," he said hushed underneath his breath.

Sora's eyes perked up. "Oh," he whispered blushing a bit, "I-I had no idea you guys…"

"Were intimate?" Roxas amusingly finished for Sora. Despite his darker nature, Sora would still be somewhat innocent and naïve when it came to such matters…even if he had desired to share them with Kairi at one point.

The brunette nodded. "It should've been expected," Sora added, "I mean, the two of you were connected to us and-"

"Just stop right there," Roxas answered rather harshly. Sora was taken aback by his Nobody's tone. The other man continued to glare. "Don't think for a second that my feelings for Naminé were because of you," he sneered, "I loved her just as much as anybody could…as much as someone who existed could," Roxas finished with a passionate tone.

The Keybearer turned to face the control booth. "I didn't mean it like that, Rox…" Sora confessed.

"Then how did you mean it?"

Another distinct pause passed between the two. Roxas sighed. "Look Sora," he began in a kinder voice, "even though you meant no harm with what you were saying, I always took the topic quite personally. Naminé firmly believed we were capable of emotions despite being nobodies. She chastised me the time I tried to say it was because of you and Kairi that we felt the way we did," Roxas revealed.

Sora shot him an apologetic look. "It's understandable," he murmured, "I'd be upset as well."

The blonde placed his hand under his chin and rested upon it. His eyes started to water as he laughed, contradicting the sight before Sora. "You know what confuses me the most about Nobodies?" Roxas asked his counterpart. "We're supposed to be empty vessels lacking feelings and yet here I am experiencing the most ridiculous amount of pain imaginable," he stated sadly. The blonde chuckled amidst his cries. "We're not meant to live…yet Naminé and I created life," he whispered bitterly.

His somebody's eyes widened at the statement. "Wait a minute," he could hardly breathe, "you guys had a…had a?"

"She was due any day now," Roxas responded wiping his tears. He smiled sadly. "Just another contradiction," the Nobody mused aloud.

Sora set the ship into auto-pilot and got up from his seat. In an unlikely manner, the brunette placed his hand on Roxas' shoulder. "All I can say is I'm sorry," Sora confessed. He sighed once more. "I can't say I know how you feel…but I do…"

"I know," Roxas responded lightly tapping Sora's hand. His face softened. "Thank you, Sora," he whispered.

A small smile crept on Sora's face. He admired his Nobody's maturity in this whole situation. "For what it's worth," the brunette murmured, "you would have been a great father."

Roxas was so surprised by the complement all he could do was just look at Sora with wide eyes. The computer diverted both of the men's attentions as it started to beep.

"Now arriving at your destination of WONDERLAND," it declared.

Drawing back, Sora resumed his seat and started to type in the controls to set the ship to auto-landing. Roxas continued to look at Sora without the man noticing. The Nobody was more than perplexed at how fast his somebody would go in and out of moods. It hurt to see that Sora, a typically light and cheery man, now had to deal with such violent behavioral changes.

It worried Roxas into thinking that he too was capable of such a drastic transformation.

* * *

**Wonderland, (5:14 pm)**

Landing much more smoothly than the last time, Sora parked the Highlander right at the bottom of the Rabbit Hole. He and Roxas exited out into the hallway leading into the Bizarre Room. Sora took note of the familiar location and prided himself in knowing this area marked a major point in his hero career. This was his first world, first technical boss, and the first keyhole he ever sealed. He was surprised he never made the effort to return here despite all of those significant reasons to.

Eyeing the table in the middle, Sora delightedly held up the pill bottle that was resting near the edge. "Hope you're hungry," he teased Roxas giving him one of the mini potions.

"Uhh…" Roxas eyed the substance in his hand strangely.

Rolling his eyes, Sora raised his bottle. "Just watch," he said taking the first gulp. In a matter of seconds, Roxas saw his somebody shrink nearly fifteen times his original size. He bent down to the floor to get a better look.

"What the heck?"

"It's in order to get through the door, Roxas!"

Sora's squeaky voice caused the blonde to chuckle. "Well, you've certainly left me in an interesting situation," Roxas muttered with a gleam in his eye.

The brunette raised his brow. "What are you getting at?" he wondered a bit unnerved.

With a smirk, Roxas held up Sora by his collar and brought him to face level. "A very interesting situation indeed," he snickered as the Keybearer struggled to break free.

"ROXAS!" he barked. "Put me down!" the tiny man insisted.

Not wanting to face the wrath of Sora, even if he was much smaller than normal, Roxas softly set the man down. "Alright, alright…" he muttered taking one of the potions for himself. Instantaneously, the blonde joined his counterpart in become far tinier than he was used to. And, just as instantly, Sora swiftly punched Roxas in the side.

"Ow!" he shouted in pain. The blonde rubbed his side. "What was that for? I was only kidding!"

Sora just continued to glare and walk away. "We don't have time for games, stupid," he chastised walking towards the hole in the wall. Roxas shook his head. Nothing would get Sora to lighten up.

As he followed his somebody, the blonde was immediately brought to a halt once the two got to the other side of the room. Roxas nearly bumped into Sora since the latter stopped so immediately. "Dude," the Nobody began but was silenced with a raised hand. Roxas joined Sora into looking around his surroundings. What was once Wonderland, a colorful albeit a strange world, was now a dark and decrepit land. Sora's mouth dropped as he observed smog overcast the skies and the smell of blood permeated his nostrils.

"What…what happened here?" he muttered to himself. Sora quickly sped up trying to see if he could recognize anything or anyone. Roxas, caught off guard once more, tried to keep up with the Keyblade Master.

"Sora!"

His somebody was far too distracted by the disturbing surroundings to pay attention to the yelling man behind him. More so than being bothered by the creepy nature of things, Sora was concerned about Alice's wellbeing especially with the change in the atmosphere. He tried to remember where exactly he was going, but everything was too twisted and warped.

"Alice!" Sora shouted hoping that maybe she could hear him from wherever she was.

A guttural scream in the distance prompted Sora to speed up towards the edge of the woods, with Roxas still trailing behind him. Heaving and panting, the brunette ran in on a woman trying to fend off some demonic looking banshee. He saw her grunting and slicing them with a viciously large knife.

"Watch out! They're boojums!"

"What jums?" Sora shouted unleashing his keyblade and attacking the screaming creatures. Roxas joined in moments later swiping one that was about the get the back of Sora's head.

"Boojums!" the woman muttered still attacking away, "they're skull faced banshees."

As Roxas knocked one down to the ground, amidst its frightening howl, he snorted. "Well that's a bit obvious," he muttered under his breath.

Sora got a couple more hits as the boojums started to scatter. "Fire!" he yelled blowing the remaining creatures up. Once the area was clear, Sora sighed and retracted his weapon. Roxas wiped some sweat from his brow.

"Well, that was certainly a great welcoming committee," he joked. Sora wasn't listening though since he made his way over to the woman.

"Are you alright miss?" he asked extending his hand.

While catching a mouthful of air, the woman nodded. "Yes," she said breathily, "I'm usually better prepared but that group just sprung up on me!" she exclaimed looking up. A gasp escaped her lips as she met the brunette's eyes.

"...Sora?"

The Keybearer's eyes lit up excitedly when he realized the svelte blonde fighter was a familiar face. "Alice?" he shouted taken aback by the change in her appearance. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. "Oh thank God you're okay," Sora muttered happily.

Alice tilted her head to the side. "Thanks to you," she said pulling Sora in for a hug. Sora immediately took note of the changes in the girl's body. Seven years had been good to Alice, allowing her form to develop nicely. Her blonde locks fell a little shorter than before. Alice's outfit was similar to her old one except for the fact that it was a darker shade of blue, and the white lace was now caked with blood.

"Alice," he murmured gently, "what's happened here?"

The Princess of Heart drew back and gestured to the chaotic land around her. "What, you don't remember Wonderland?" she asked in a sarcastic fashion. The girl sighed and she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "A lot has happened since you've been here Sora," Alice whispered.

"Like what?" Roxas asked. When Alice shot him a strange look, he cleared his throat. "I-I mean, my name's Roxas…I'm Sora's friend!" the Nobody corrected.

"You two look passable for brothers!" Alice noted. The two men looked at each other warily.

"You don't say?" Sora responded, his eyes narrowing.

Alice nodded. "But you were asking about what happened correct?" she said to Roxas. When the man motioned for her to continue, Alice placed herself on the mossy ground. "Take a seat," she insisted, "it's a bit of a story."

"We've got time," Sora answered back with a smile. Roxas noticed the change in Sora's behavior around Alice, and figured it must've been due to her pure heart…or the fact that her dress clung quite closely to her chest.

"Well, I guess what I've come to figure out is that Wonderland is in ruin partially because of me, Alice confessed.

"Why would you say that?" Roxas inquired.

"I…" Alice took another breath, "I haven't exactly been in the most stable of states," she added. The blonde princess started to draw circles in the dirt. "Not since the fire…" she muttered almost incoherently.

"What fire?"

Sora's question made Alice shy away slightly. "The fire…that killed my parents," the princess admitted as she started to rub the fabric of her dress.

Both Roxas and Sora's faces fell at the comment. "Oh Alice," Roxas breathed, "I'm so sorry."

Alice sniffled, despite putting on a brave face. "It's alright," she murmured, "that was a long time ago…and I haven't been back in Wonderland since our last adventure. I've been kind of…incarcerated since then if you will."

"Incarcerated?"

"Like in a prison?"

"Worse," Alice resumed, "an insane asylum. They thought I had something to do with the fire when I was just merely traumatized by the whole ordeal," the girl explained. "I um," she continued unsure, "I made some less than royal decisions at that time…one of which was to try and end my life."

"Alice," Sora could barely breathe her name aloud.

The princess shook her head. "I'm fine now, truly," the blonde insisted.

"So what brings you back here?" Sora questioned.

"I need to defeat the Queen of Hearts," Alice said gravely as she unsheathed a vorpal blade. "Then the nightmares will stop according to Cheshire," she continued.

Roxas blinked twice. "Cheshire?" he wondered.

"Some damn annoying cat," Sora muttered with a snort.

Alice gave off a cool glare at the Keybearer. "He's been more than helpful since I've arrived here, Sora…" the girl stated sternly.

"I didn't mean any offense by it," the brunette responded, "Cheshire just has a tendency to confuse more than aid."

"That is a bit on the correct side, I do suppose," Alice replied in her pretty, British accent. The woman sighed. "Apparently this is all because of the chaotic state of my mind, he told me," the blonde said as she motioned to the area. She stood up and used her apron to wipe off the fresh blood on her blade. "And what exactly brings you two gentlemen to Wonderland? I doubt it's to aid me in my quest."

Sora eyed her confusingly. "Wait, I thought you had been in contact with Leon!" he shouted.

Alice placed her hand to her chin. "Leon," she murmured deep in thought. She snapped her fingers. "Isn't that one of your friends…the one from Hollow Bastion, correct?"

"Yeah,"

"What about him?"

"He," Sora shook his head, "wait so you never talked with him?"

"Not since our ordeal with Maleficent," Alice responded.

Roxas pulled Sora's arm and brought him to the side. "Do you think Leon lied to us?" he wondered at the peculiar situation.

Sora vehemently denied such a possibility. "Not a chance," he insisted, "something else must be going here…" he murmured to the Nobody.

Alice shot the two a strange look. "Is there a problem?" she wondered.

The brunette looked towards Roxas for some help but he merely made a gesture egging the other man to explain what was going on. Sora sighed as he calmly approached Alice. "Nothing at all," he lied through his teeth, "we're just going to be accompanying you for a little while."

Both Alice and Roxas stared at him with a surprised expression. "What/why?" the two said at the same time.

The Keyblade Master took Alice's hand. "I want to make sure you're alright," he said sincerely.

A smile appeared on the princess' face. "That's awfully sweet of you, Sora…" she answered back with admiration, "…but I wouldn't ask that of you two."

Once again, Roxas dragged Sora off to the side. "Um…please explain yourself," the blonde demanded. Sora tilted his head downwards.

"You heard how her life has been," Sora whispered, "why would I distress her even more than she needs to be?"

Roxas gawked at the man. "Well that's kind of the point of this mission _Sora_," he responded.

"Listen," the brunette muttered, "let's just stick around her for a bit and see if there are any clues in Wonderland about these guys. In the meantime, we can help her overcome her demons."

The Nobody was completely baffled at that moment. Sora, even in the darkest of circumstances, still desired nothing more than helping others who were in need. He threw his hands up. "Fine! We'll go by your game plan…but don't say didn't tell you otherwise," Roxas added a bit upset.

"Sora? Roxas?"

Alice blinked a few times as the men sheepishly turned their attention back to the pretty blonde. "We should probably head towards the other side of the river," she murmured starting to walk north, "it's not safe on this side past sunset," Alice added taking note of the sky.

Sora and Roxas quickly followed suit and caught up with the blue eyed damsel.

The Princess of Heart led the two out of the woods and to an extremely polluted lake. The shrubbery surrounding it was enormous and dwarfed all of fighters making them seem like ants. A foul odor emitted from the pond, matching the disgusting brownish color that it was. Roxas nearly found himself throwing up at the smell. Sora casted Aeroga on the three in order for the wind to try to take the whiffs of unpleasant air away from them.

"Phew, much better!" Roxas chimed.

The three approached the water's edge as Alice took a moment to observe her resources. Her eyes lit up when she spot some lily pads. She motioned for the men to follow her.

"This area is incredibly dangerous," Alice admitted.

Roxas perked up his eyebrow. "How so?" he wondered.

Lifting a dainty, yet calloused finger, Alice pointed the water. "Observe," she said as she kicked a tiny pebble towards the lake. In a matter of seconds, a vicious piranha like fish popped out of the water flaring his fangs at the three. The gruesome creature went back under just as quickly. The sight prompted Roxas' face to turn white.

"Oh…" he started of unsteadily, "I see…"

Sora turned towards Alice. "Any ideas?"

Alice swayed her hips as she walked along the water's edge. Both Sora and Roxas were keen to notice the shapely figure she possessed. The pretty blonde turned her head and gave the men a strange look. "If you want to see how to cross this pond without dying, I suggest you boys focus on something other than my backside," she responded darkly. With that, Alice heaved off the shore and onto a lily pad.

The two Keyblade Bearers gazed at one another and shook their heads to get out of their trance. Following Alice's lead, Sora jumped from one lily pad to another. Roxas gulped; he wasn't exactly the most nimble of men and feared falling off the leaf into the water. Sora turned around when he noticed he wasn't being followed. "C'mon Roxas!" he shouted towards the Nobody.

"Give me a sec, will ya?" the dusty haired man fumed. Taking in a rather large breath, Roxas made it to the first pad unscathed. With a sigh of relief, he continued to hop in the same fashion as Sora and Alice.

Their female companion made it to the other side without any trouble and Sora was a pad away from accomplishing the same feat. However, as Roxas was jumping from one of the lilies to the other, his footing was misplaced and he splashed suddenly into the water. Before finishing his own leap, Sora turned around horrified at the sound. "ROXAS!" he shouted jumping backwards towards to the Nobody.

Roxas resurfaced spitting up the gross water that made its way into his mouth. "Oh God!" he muttered disgusted at the taste. He didn't have too much time to worry about the taste of the water as he felt a fin touch his leg. His face paled. "Uh…uh Sora?" Roxas tried to quietly state at the man coming his way. Sora halted himself as he noticed the blonde's panicked face.

"Just stay absolutely still," he insisted to a terrified Roxas. His Nobody gulped.

"Easy for you to say!" his counterpart yelled in a harsh whisper.

"Sora! Roxas!" Alice was shouting from the shore, "You have to watch out for the Snark!"

Roxas' eyes narrowed. "Well gee, I'm glad she thought of that," he muttered annoyed. Sora slowly tried to edge closer to the blonde. His blue eyes flickered gently.

"Slowly, give me your hand," Sora whispered.

With an impeccably timed motion, Roxas carefully raised his hand out of the water. He felt another fin pass by his legs and he was tempted to squirm. "Sora!" he softly yelled. "I can _feel _it!"

"You're doing great just give me your hand!"

The Nobody calmly placed his palm in Sora's grasp and the other man tried to leisurely draw him out of the water. His pacing increased as he saw the Snark appear behind Roxas with his razor teeth flaring.

"SHIT!" Sora screamed heaving Roxas in an upwards motion. He didn't even know if he'd have time to reach for his keyblade to cast a spell on the beast. Luckily, a card scratched the side of the creature. Sora turned to see Alice throwing a deck of sharp cards towards the Snark.

"Hurry up and get to the shore!" she screamed retreating back to the safety of the land.

"C'mon!" Sora said lifting Roxas up and jumped in the air. While carrying the other man, he started to glide barely missing the jaws of the Snark. The two made it to the other side in one piece and as Sora dropped Roxas he summoned the Oathkeeper. "Blizzard!" he yelled freezing the Snark as the creature attempted to make its way over to the trio.

While heaving, Roxas angrily glared at Sora. "YOU MEAN WE COULD HAVE DONE THAT FROM THE START?" he screamed at the top of his throat. His face was still a drastic shade of white.

"Look, you survived didn't you?" Sora said in reply to Roxas' thankless tone.

Taking the hint, Roxas stood up and shook Sora's hand. "Sorry Sora," he muttered, "tha-thanks."

Sora motioned to Alice. "You should be thanking Alice," the brunette stated, "that was some impressive card throwing."

Alice shrugged. "It's just a skill I've learned since retuning here," she responded heading towards a pathway.

Roxas drew in a heavy breath. "Whoa, whoa, can't we rest for a bit?" he asked, still sopping wet.

Nodding, Alice agreed. "We probably should…you're soaked to the bone!" she exclaimed trying to help Roxas dry himself.

"I'll make a fire," Sora commented grabbing some dead wood and setting up a small campsite a good distance away from the shore's edge. He casted a fire spell and created a nice, toasty source of warmth for the three. Sora tossed Roxas a cottage. "Here, you can change inside to something dry," he suggested. Roxas gladly, and quite quickly, opened the tent to remove his essentials in private.

Alice calmly set down and placed her hands towards the crackling fire. Sora, meanwhile, set up another tent behind her. "This can be yours for the night," the brunette said as he finished pitching it. He had a surprised look on his face as he noticed Alice was already starting to cook something over the fire. She smiled at the Keybearer.

"Thank you Sora," the blonde murmured tenderly.

A faint grin appeared on his lips. "No need to thank me," he replied, "I'm happy to help."

Alice shook her head. "Now sit," she insisted as she continued to cook, "you haven't told me exactly what brought you here," the girl stated curiously.

Sora's mouth dropped a bit. He figured Alice would have dropped the subject after his first response. "So…coming here to help you sounded too farfetched?" he asked sheepishly.

The girl beamed. "Quite so," she laughed poking the food in her pan.

The brunette didn't return the cheery laugh as he looked towards the ground. He didn't want to go into too much detail, so as not to frighten the girl, but he knew she deserved to hear a bit of the truth. "You," he started off envisioning beautiful violet-blue eyes, "you remember Kairi, right?"

"Kairi…" Alice murmured in thought, like she had done before with Leon. "Oh! Kairi," she exclaimed excitedly, "she's one of the Princesses of Heart, correct?"

"Yeah that's right,"

"And she's your sweetheart, isn't she?"

Sora couldn't smile back at Alice, causing the girl to retract her grin. "Sora?" she questioned softly.

"She was, at least…" he muttered staring at the floor.

Setting the pan of food to the side, Alice bent down towards the man. "You don't mean she's-?" Alice gasped slightly as she placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh Sora…" she added sadly. Sympathetically, the woman gave Sora a small hug.

"It's okay," the Keybearer replied without much emotion behind his voice. Alice shook her head.

"No, no don't try to make light of it," the princess insisted, "I am so sorry for your loss."

The Keyblade Master nodded in thanks. "I appreciate that," he answered earnestly.

"Mmm! What smells good?" Roxas asked stepping out of the tent in fresh pajamas. He eyed Alice and Sora suspiciously as he noticed how close they were in proximity. "Er, is everything alright out here?" he questioned.

Sora waved his hand. "Nothing, I was just telling her about Kairi," he murmured.

Roxas' blue eyes shot up. "Oh…" the Nobody added in understanding. He realized Alice was comforting Sora.

"Isn't that just awful, Roxas?" Alice genuinely asked.

The man grimaced as he reached for some dinner. "Yeah, definitely is…" he responded in a rather dismal manner. Alice raised an eyebrow at his behavior before Sora explained.

"Roxas also lost someone very dear to him at the same time," he told Alice. The princess sadly touched Roxas' shoulder.

"Oh you poor dears!" she muttered. Roxas was amused that someone who had experienced such tragedy as Alice had was more concerned about him, a complete stranger. "What happened? Were they sick?" the blonde woman asked her companions.

Sora sighed. "They…they were murdered, Alice," he tried to say delicately.

Her hand returned to cover her mouth. "Oh no," she breathed, "that's…that's absolutely horrible. Who would do such a wicked deed?"

"That's why we're here," Roxas said almost carelessly. He stopped himself before revealing the full situation to Alice. "Er, yeah we are trying to track this group down that we know is responsible. Yet, we have no idea who they are exactly or where they are located.

Taking a bite of his food, Sora nodded in agreement. He didn't dare try to add on to Roxas' explanation for fear of exposing the danger to Alice. "Precisely," was all he mentioned to the girl.

"Tsk," Alice clucked, "you both truly don't need to hang around _me _during such a vital time! Why, I must be distracting you from your mission."

"No!" the blonde man shouted. Before confusing Alice ever further, he cleared his throat. "I mean, no…you need us now, and honestly, we need you to guide us through this crazy world if we're ever going to find some clues," Roxas recovered nicely. He never thought himself to be a talented liar, but then again he never really had a need to be one in the past.

Sora rolled his eyes at his Nobody's slip up.

Wiping her mouth as she finished eating, Alice let out a yawn. "Oh, excuse me," she begged pardon, "I didn't realize how tired I was!"

"You should get some sleep then," Sora told her.

"We all should," Roxas added glancing at Sora. He knew that the brunette more than anyone needed at least one good night's rest.

"Well then gentlemen," Alice stated rising up towards her tent, "I hope you both have pleasant dreams," she wished for the two. With that, Alice drew her zipper up and proceeded to try to sleep.

Sora threw a piece of bacon at Roxas. "Way to almost blow it," he hissed.

"Hey, I recovered didn't I?" he responded taking a bite out of the very same bacon. Sora grimaced at the Nobody. As Roxas continued to eat, he would talk to Sora in between chews. "You really should try to sleep," he contended.

"Yeah, because that always works out so well for me, doesn't it?" Sora replied sarcastically.

"Sor, c'mon…I'm being serious," Roxas added softly.

The Keyblade Master sighed. "Fine, just take care of the fire for me, will you?" he requested.

Roxas answered with a mock salute. "Roger that!" he retorted, toothy grin intact.

He felt his hair being ruffled as Sora passed by. "You're such a weird man, Rox…" the brunette stated with a small chuckle. He entered their own tent as Roxas laughed in response.

"At least he seems to be in a better mood," he murmured looking towards Alice's tent. "Guess that's what the Princesses of Heart can do for a person," Roxas added to no one but himself, "no wonder Sora feels so empty…going from being surrounding by so much light to being encased in darkness," he ended bitterly. Roxas sighed as he headed towards the water's edge to fill a bucket to put the fire out. Immediately, the blonde turned around remembering the Snark and other such creepy crawlies that were there.

"Maybe I'll just cast blizzard…" he chuckled nervously as he called for the spell. The fire spit at him, barely missing his foot. Roxas shook his head. "What a day," he muttered. He quickly joined Sora in their respective tent to get some shut eye as well.

* * *

**Wonderland, (2:08 am)**

Sora sighed as he laid back in the tent. He barely got a wink of sleep, maybe only an hour's worth. Luckily, it was one of the dreamless cycles but Sora was terrified that if he stayed asleep any longer, it would soon turn into another nightmare. And that, Sora thought, was far worse than not getting some rest at all.

He turned his head as he heard a noise coming from straight outside the tent. Sora feared that some more boojums were there and tried to tip toe around a sleeping Roxas to see what was going on. However, it was only Alice lighting up another fire in the darkness.

"Alice, what are you doing up?" Sora breathed taking a seat quietly by the princess.

"Well, I was tired and feel asleep," she started off saying with a soft tone, "but it just turned into a nightmare and I didn't want to try going back to bed," Alice confessed.

The Keybearer's face fell. "I know what that's like," he stated.

"You have been having some terrible ones too," she said instinctively. Alice sighed. "Oh Sora, I just still feel so awful about your ordeal!"

The brunette was touched by Alice's concern. She, like Aurora, reminded him so much of Kairi. "All of you Princesses of Heart are so much alike…" he stated, not exactly intending to say the comment aloud.

"Oh?" Alice quipped batting her eyelashes. She was genuinely interested in what he meant by that.

Sora's piercing eyes stared directly into the fire. "You all have similar qualities," he continued, "all of you are brave, intelligent and very kind even when you don't have to be, beautiful…"

The last comment made the two of them blush. That was another statement Sora hadn't meant to verbalize. He poked the fire sadly, as the red flames prompted an image in his mind.

"…and you all are just like _her."_

Alice shot Sora a sympathetic look. She could see the absolute, heart-wrenching pain the man was in whenever he thought about Kairi. The blonde understood what that was like.

"I'll bet you miss her terribly," Alice whispered.

"You have no idea," Sora remarked almost coolly. When he saw Alice's eyes dip in sorrow he apologized. "Sorry Alice," he murmured, "I almost forgot that you know what I'm talking about."

"Eh," Alice shrugged, "I really don't though…" the girl spoke in a distant manner. She scratched her head. "My mind aches anytime I try to remember the details of the fire," Alice whispered.

"But still," Sora began, "the aftermath is embedded in your head."

"Yes, I suppose it is…" the woman muttered clutching her vorpal blade.

Sora picked up a rock and skipped it across the water's surface. His feet barely touched the shore as to not awaken the creatures that lived below. He stared intently at the moon and her reflection in the water. Sora crossed his arms and frowned.

Alice stood up as Sora's silence spoke more words than what needed to be said. She calmly went over and placed her tiny hand on his shoulder. "If there's anything I've learned since my tribulation, it's that…even though it is so hard to remember otherwise, they're always with you," the blonde whispered.

The Keybearer shied away from her touch. "Everyone keeps saying that…" he murmured.

"Yet, you don't believe it for yourself?"

"Not in the slightest,"

"Sora…"

The princess took his hands and looked at him with her beautiful baby blues. "I wouldn't tell you that if I didn't think it was true," Alice began, "even if Kairi isn't physically here…"

"She's in my heart," Sora finished bitterly.

A set of fingers much smaller than his own were placed to his cheek. "Are you that afraid to look inside your heart to find her?" Alice posed the question with an earnest plea.

"Yes…"

The answer surprised Sora himself, though he was the one to immediately utter the reply. Alice continued to stroke his face. "And why is that?" she asked, her gaze intensifying.

"I-" the Keyblade Master took note of their position. He drew back a bit. "I'm afraid of my own darkness," he confessed to her.

"Aren't we all?" Alice responded pulling out her weapon once more. She and Sora eyed the blade carefully. "Never in my life did I think myself capable of ending another's existence," the princess spoke.

"Never in my life did I find myself wanting to end another's existence," Sora whispered ashamed at his own words. He sighed as he clutched Alice's hand. "Not even all the other villains I've faced…I always held hope that they could be saved and I was more than willing to extend that chance of redemption to them," he continued. "Now? Now all I want to do is just end their miserable lives hoping that it'll be at least of the tenth of the pain they've caused me," Sora finished truthfully.

"You've been so wounded," Alice murmured leaning in.

"I guess I deserve it,"

"Now why on Earth would you say that about yourself, Sora?"

His eyes glistened slightly. "If I couldn't even save her…then what would have made me worthy enough to have a lifetime of happiness with her?" Sora asked.

"Because no one deserves to be in such pain," Alice whispered now clutching the sides of his face with both of her hands.

"Alice…"

A single tear fell down her cheek. "Oh Sora, you and I are so much alike," she muttered with a sniffle, "fate has tricked us into thinking we've merited feeling the heavy burden of blame. But that shouldn't be the case at all," Alice finished.

Sora found himself leaning in, his forehead on top of the princess'. "Then what should it be?" he asked with a dark tone. The sullenness inside of him struck his very core.

"We should be able to go on, and be thankful for every breath we can still breathe,"

"Kind of hard to do when you wish you could be dead,"

Alice's eyes were panged with sorrow. "Now if you were dead," she started off slowly, "who would save me?"

The brunette blinked. He could feel the warmth of the girl's breath on top of his nose. "I'm sure Roxas would be happy to-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as Alice, sprung up on her toes, leaned in to swiftly kiss the man. It had seemed like a century since Sora experienced the sensation of another's mouth upon his and he found himself relishing in the memory of that. He returned the action and clutched the girl tightly. In between their hasty breaths, the princess let her fingers circle his cheeks as Sora stroked her hair. Alice slowly let her nose graze Sora's own as she delved in deeper than before.

The hero of the worlds didn't know what exactly had come over him but his gut was stirring in a manner that had seemed long forgotten to him. Sora didn't protest when he found Alice's tongue requested access into his mouth. He, to his surprise, actually returned the forceful move and lifted Alice off of her toes and took them both back to the campfire. Sora slowly set the two of them down, letting all of his thoughts…his sanity and sense of right and wrong…he let them leave his mind for a while.

Alice kissed his neck as she unbuttoned the black shirt shielding Sora's exquisite frame from her touch. Sora drew his head back as he imagined another's lips making their way down his chest. Instead of the blonde hair, Sora saw shades of red. Beautiful, luscious auburn hair that he remembered getting tangled up in so many nights before.

He opened his eyes to see Alice no more, but another familiar face. Kairi…

"Your body is absolutely beautiful," the girl responded in a foreign voice.

Sora couldn't say a word as Kairi removed the rest of his shirt and nuzzled into the muscles belonging to the Keybearer. "Beautiful," she murmured continuing to kiss him downwards.

Dipping his head, Sora captured her lips as he began to return the favor of removing her clothes. His hand would gently glide underneath her blouse and started to sweetly tease the breast that hid beneath the fabric shield. Sora put more force into the kisses as he let his tongue roam openly in the mouth of the gorgeous woman before him. Kairi started to fumble with his belt as Sora returned the favor and slipped off the girl's underwear. He brought his lips downwards so he could play with the erected nipples, causing Kairi to moan in ecstasy.

"Oh Sora," she murmured holding him closer.

The Keyblade Master didn't respond and continued to pay special attention to her chest. Kairi's hands finally were able to pull off the rest of Sora's pants allowing the two to be both completely naked under the pale moonlight. Moving even further down her ivory colored body, Sora spread her tiny legs apart.

"Sora…"

"Just trust me," he cooed sweetly, giving another lip lock on top of her maw. As he continued to kiss her earnestly, Sora placed a solitary finger in the deep, moist cavern before him. Kairi squirmed at the action, whimpering into the brunette's mouth.

"Oh," she clucked, her face heating up. Her blushing cheeks matched her pretty locks of hair.

"Mmm," Sora groaned as he entered another finger into the same location. He slowly began to move his fingers in and out of the hole, feeling them starting to be coated with a thick, visceral liquid. Another pleasurable noise emitted from Kairi and Sora joined her as he could feel her stroke his throbbing member.

"Please Sora," Kairi begged, placing her forehead to his own. She drew as close to him as humanly possible.

"Are you sure?" he questioned continuing to kiss her jaw line, "because once I continue, I won't be able to hold myself back…"

Kairi held her bare breasts against his chest and pressed her cheek against him. "What makes you think I'll want you to?" she asked rather huskily, to Sora's surprise and raging delight.

"Oh God," he muttered kissing her further. He drew the girl down a bit and began to spread her legs once more. Placing himself in front of the soft flesh, Sora suddenly drew himself in with a fast thrust. The action made Kairi scream.

"Sora!" she yelled. A few tears passed down her face.

"Are you alright?" Sora questioned, fearing for the girl, hoping she wasn't taking in more pain then pleasure.

Kairi slowly steadied her breathing and nodded. "Keep…keep going," she answered gazing in Sora's eyes. Her stare was laced with a lusty gloss.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes I'm sure," Kairi insisted trying to make the movements herself. Sora got the picture and took over.

Slowly, but gently, Sora regained his pace and continued to move in and out of Kairi. He groaned happily as he heard her scream his name in pleasure. Sora's length was fully encased in a solid, tight grip…one he was enjoying far more than he could have ever imagined. He leaned in to kiss the lovely woman with an aggressive force.

"Kairi," he moaned over Alice's lips. The princess drew her head to the side only giving Sora her cheek. Her eyes got lustrous and she released a small smile.

"I should have known," she whispered. Sora drew back when he was fully aware of the situation. Alice took the form that Kairi just had moments before. He simply stared at Alice, still sheathed inside of her. The girl glanced back at him sadly. "It's alright Sora," the blonde murmured pulling away from Sora's grip quietly. "We both needed this for different reasons," Alice continued, "and even if that meant being her for tonight…then that's fine with me."

Sora backed off of the girl ashamed of his actions. "Alice…I…" Sora couldn't bring himself to say any words. He lowered his head disappointed with himself. "I am so sorry," he muttered turning away for his clothes.

"Wait!" Alice reached over for Sora's arm. Her eyes remained watery. "I-I don't want you to leave though," she murmured reaching in to hold his chiseled frame. A tear fell down her fair face. "I just need someone here…so that I can sleep without nightmares for tonight," Alice revealed, her vulnerability showing.

Sora kindly placed his hand over her grip and sighed. Alice needed this physical release as much as he had, perhaps even more so. He turned his head to brush away her bangs. "I have to be honest with you; this doesn't mean anything to me Alice," the brunette confessed, afraid of the girl's reaction. Alice smiled softly.

"I know," she said clutching Sora even tighter, "and I don't expect it to mean anything to me either come morning," Alice continued. The blonde pressed her cheek to Sora's. "Like I said though, I just want someone here to hold me…for just tonight, and then we can forget everything. All the bad things, all the nightmares…tonight only," the princess muttered into his ear. He felt the hotness of her tears roll down his neck.

He sighed. "I would like some company," the Keybearer replied letting his arms wrap around Alice. The two moved inside Alice's tent knowing full well how terrible Roxas would react seeing the two naked by the dying fire. As Sora pulled the blonde down towards him, Alice's hand traced over Sora's frame.

"I'm sorry I couldn't really be her," Alice muttered closing her eyes. She inhaled his rustic scent and it calmed her a bit.

Sora's eyes widened at the comment. He was about to reply something but noticed Alice was starting to drift off to sleep. His finger trailed down her spine, a move he had always done for Kairi.

"_I'm sorry you couldn't be either," _the brunette thought to himself. He didn't dare say those words aloud. His deep blue pools shut themselves as the Keyblade Master attempted to clear his mind of what had just occurred. "_Kairi," _his mind whispered, "_I-I always…I always wanted it to be you…just you," _Sora's subconscious pleaded to her, as if she could even hear him. He felt his eyes water, but refused to open them to let tears fall. He harshly inhaled.

Even with Alice there, Sora knew he'd have another nightmare that night.

The only question was, what would it be about this time?

* * *

I've probably lost all credibility with most of you after that random curveball. But I hope you guys got what I was trying to go for with it. Sora, being the crazy man I'm turning him into, just wants to be with Kairi so desperately he'll start seeing her anywhere and everywhere. I guess he even did that when he was sane in KH1 but you catch my drift. Though, if I see a rise in Sora/Alice fics I suppose it's my own fault to blame.

I've kept most of you guys in the dark about the villains in favor of moving the main plot along but fret not! Next chapter explains a ton of stuff. Be warned though; it's going to be OC overload.

**Next Chapter: **More is revealed about the mysterious cult and Sora and Roxas are desperate to prevent another death from occurring…but will they be successful?

Many thanks to my reviewers; your words of encouragement keep this story alive. You all know who you are. Thanks for your patience as well! Oh, and just a little reminder, Wonderland was based off of American McGee's "Alice" so try to go play that if you're looking for a good PC game!

Love,

SonChan

PS: Songs that helped this time around? "Everytime" by Britney Spears, "Me and the Moon" by Something Corporate, and "Bother" by Stone Sour.

PSS: "Nothing Else Matters" the S&M live version by Metallica was the inspiration for the uh…well the scene in which two of our characters partake in less than becoming actions. Apocalyptica also does a nice instrumental version if any of you so wish to uh, well… "try it out" O_o (you did not hear this from me…)


	6. The Jaded and the Damned

Rancoeur du Coeur 

**Disclaimers: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, or any part of Disney or Square-Enix. I own the million of OOC's you will be seeing inside this story and the story idea. "Playing with Fire" (acoustic) by the band Emery is kind of used in here so you should definitely give it a listen!

**Authors Note:** I cannot even begin to properly express my thanks for the awesome feedback I've been getting. Truly, it propels me to better myself with each new chapter!

Since it's my birthday today (YAYYYY! Well, I'm pretty sure by the time it actually loads it'll already be the 30th) I figure an update would be nice. Sorry this took a little longer, but you have to admit…it's a lot better than my past updating rate! College definitely knows how to keep me busy however, I find this a lot more interesting :)

**Oh, and just a word of advice, my fics are best viewed in the 3/4 format.** It's much easier on the eyes. (And also, I prefer light on dark, but that's just me!)

**DETAILED SUMMARY:** To Sora, life was as perfect as it could be. He was engaged to Kairi, a well-respected Keyblade bearer, and just a happy go-lucky 21 year old. That was, until a new cult of fallen Keyblade wielders decided to eliminate the Princesses of Hearts. Helpless to save her, Sora vows to avenge Kairi's murder anyway he can, even if it means giving into darkness. And Roxas, who had lost Naminé when Kairi was killed, secedes from Sora to help him in his cause. But as they get closer to reaching their goal, Roxas starts to realize the consequences of what he and Sora intend to do. SK RN

**QUICK SUMMARY:** He couldn't protect her, but he would avenge her. SK RN

* * *

**Chapter 6: **The Jaded and the Damned

**Chateau Méchant**

Vulcan hocked a wad of spit at the ground as he reappeared outside the castle gates of Chateau Méchant. His last mission to scout out the remaining princesses' whereabouts frustrated him to no end. Avon had not given the order to eliminate the rest of them just yet. His employer wanted to prolong the anticipation, cruelly torturing the thoughts of his victims far more than he already was. Vulcan thought it was a waste of his precious time.

Not like his time even belonged to him, though.

A slave to Avon and his twisted cult, Vulcan did his work free of charge. All this torture and turmoil caused on his behalf was no cost to anyone else. Vulcan wasn't completely void of a purpose or reason.

"Vulcan?"

He did it for her.

Smiles rarely formed on the assassin's cruel face but his sister Maven could brighten up even the darkest day for the man. She immediately ran towards him, and the raven hair that cascaded down her back bounced with each eager step she took. Maven jumped into her brother's arms. "You're back!" she shouted happily clutching the older man.

The two looked eerily similar, with obvious differences applying to their opposite genders. Both had enviable black locks and piercing dark eyes. Vulcan had very little warmth in his frozen heart, but if anything, Maven was the small flickering ember that was so desperately trying to remain alit.

"I've only been gone for a day, stupid," Vulcan said rather fining towards Maven.

"Yes, but it was a very long day," the girl responded with a kiss on his cheek. Despite being around twenty-five, Maven was rather naïve and childlike.

"Welcome back, Vulcan,"

Vulcan could see his sister shudder at the dark voice belonging to Avon. He let her go as he saw his employer snake an arm around the tiny waist of the woman. His fingers pressed deeply into Maven's sides, almost to the point of causing pain. "You've been missed," Avon said turning towards the trembling girl.

"My Lord," Vulcan bowed, trying to disguise the disdain at the sight of his sister in fear, "when would you like me to continue with the elimination process?"

"You are actually more than welcomed to proceed," Avon replied, still driving his grip sharply against Maven's ribcage. "We shouldn't delay things too much longer,"

"Sir, I've noticed that Sora and his Nobody have traveled to Wonderland and are protecting Alice."

"Ah, so the Keybearers are still attempting to play the heroes!"

"Sir…"

"Vulcan," Avon chuckled amusingly, "they haven't been much of a problem for you yet…so why are you worrying?"

"Because in each case it's either been Sora, Roxas or neither of them at the scene. However, both of them at once may prove to be a bit difficult," Vulcan admitted, taking another glance at his sister's hurt expression.

"Hmm," Avon mused, placing his cold lips on Maven's rosy cheek. "Well then, we should assign you some extra help then shouldn't we?" he continued proceeding to turn around. Maven followed suit as Avon still had an extremely tight grip upon the girl. "I'll ask for Gavon to assist you," the cruel leader remarked about faced from his employee.

"Pardon these next words my Lord, but how in the hell could that crazy scientist be of any help to me against two incredibly powerful warriors of the keyblade?"

"Tsk, tsk Vulcan!" Avon joked, halting himself momentarily. "You shouldn't be so quick to judge a book by its cover," he chastised, "Gavon is very resourceful and I believe he has a relative that resides in Wonderland who happens to be as _mad _as he is!"

"But how…?"

Both Avon and Vulcan turned to observe Maven, who had spoken very little, before stopping herself. Their cold looks were unnervingly telling, as if they were secretly saying 'how dare you speak!'

"Is there something you would like to add to the conversation, my pet?" Avon questioned as he buried his nose into her alluring locks. Vulcan took the moment to grimace, since the auburn haired man was not directly looking at him.

"N-no sir," Maven replied meekly, her eyes drooping.

"You know that your opinion is _highly _valued, my dearest," Avon said sweetly, but quite darkly at the same time.

"It's…it's just," she continued amidst Vulcan's slight shaking of his head, "never mind."

"Hmm, maybe you should think before speaking next time, Maven…"

"Yes, my Lord. I-I apologize,"

"Your impudence is forgiven love," Avon remarked placing his lips against hers in a hurried fashion. Vulcan turned his head away to not look at the sight that was so demoralizing to him. Avon pulled apart from Maven and gestured towards her brother. "I'll discuss your impending mission with Gavon, Vulcan," he added as he once again started to walk away with Maven in his hold.

"Yes, my Lord," Vulcan bowed attempting not to raise his eyes towards his sister.

"Bye," Maven mouthed as she was momentarily able to look back. Another tight tug on her sides prompted her to face forward again.

"Before I do that, my sweet, how about you and I have some fun…hmm?" Avon said in vicious tone. Maven knew all too well what he meant.

"If…if that is what you wish, my Lord," Maven answered shakily.

"What I wish? My darling, don't you _enjoy _our time spent together?"

"Yes, my Lord…"

"Now that's what I like to hear,"

"…"

Avon led the girl into his bedroom; a release for him…a prison to her.

* * *

"_Sora," Kairi murmured ever so lightly. A small, feminine gasp escaped her lips as his kisses trailed down her neck. The Keybearer held her cheek with one hand and let his free one wandered down the princess' frame. _

"_God Kai," Sora whispered back, "you're killing me here."_

_Kairi gently cupped his face, drawing her lips to graze his nose. "We can't go any further Sora," she said into his ear._

_A frustrated groan emitted from the brunette whilst he still attempted to grope the woman in front of him. "Can't we just…go a little further?"_

"_No Sor,"_

"_Kairi…"_

"_Ah! Sora…that's my-"_

"_I know what it _is _Kai, I took anatomy too ya know,"_

_The redhead blushed as he had calmly squeezed her breast through the fabric of her tank top. "Please, Sora…" she whispered kissing him once more, "I'm just not ready yet."_

_A surge of guilt spread through the nineteen year old as he drew away from his girlfriend of three years. He sighed leaning back onto the pillows, pulling Kairi towards him to stoke her head tenderly. _

"_You know the only reason this is so hard for me is because I just want to love you properly, right?" Sora muttered blowing air into Kairi's ear. The move made her squeal slightly, ending with a hearty chuckle._

"_You love me properly everyday of our lives, Sora," Kairi giggled circling his chest._

_He leaned in to give her an Eskimo kiss. "You know what I mean," Sora murmured._

_Kairi closed her eyes and took in the musty scent that belonged to her boyfriend. "I know you hate me for doing this to you,"_

"_Kairi, stop right there. I could _never _hate you,"_

"_But I know this is hard for you when everyone else is doing it,"_

_The music that was pounding through the not so soundproof walls of the dorm signified that the college party the two were attending was still just as crazy as ever. Like most of the couples, they stole away to a room for more privacy. Unlike most of the couples, they were still the only ones with their clothes on. Sora placed a finger in Kairi's beautiful red locks. He found a strand that he twirled affectionately. "I could care less what everyone else is doing, Kai," Sora said, concentrating on her auburn waves. Right at that moment, the two could hear another type of noise through the walls._

"_OH GOD! YES! THERE OH RIGHT THEREEEEE!"_

_The moans of ecstasy prompted Sora and Kairi to break out into laughter. Kairi clutched her man even tighter. "Gee Sora, you sure you don't care what they're doing? Sounds like fun," she teased as he stuck his tongue out at her._

"_Listen," he began sweetly, "I'd never want to force you into something you aren't ready for, Kai. I'm a patient guy…I'll wait a hundred years if I have to, so long as your mine one day."_

_His words made Kairi's heart flutter with joy. She leaned in to give him a sickeningly sweet kiss. "Sora," she breathed over his face, "I've always been yours. Making love won't change the fact that my heart and yours have and will forever be connected," Kairi continued giving him another peck._

_The Keyblade Master held her close. "Yes," he murmured in reply, "but it would make me feel a lot better down…_there,_" Sora grinned grinding his hips against her in a joking fashion._

"_Ew, Sora…" Kairi chuckled as he pinned her below him. The brunette held her arms over her head and gazed lovingly into the princess' blue eyes. He tried to make out the slight shade of purple that was hidden in her irises; that was his favorite physical feature about the girl._

"_But," he started off slowly suckling the skin above her collarbone, "since I can't do anything about that, what else shall I do with my poor, defenseless woman underneath me?"_

"_Oooh, you sound so dark Sora,"_

"_Hmm, maybe I've always been dark Kairi,"_

"_I highly doubt that…you're far too innocent for that; though the bulge in your pants says otherwise,"_

_Sora turned red and tried to fix his hips off of the girl. She was giggling like a child at his embarrassment. "Aw, you poor thing," Kairi murmured sympathetically. Sora still had her arms pinned above her head. "I guess I should be flattered you think so highly of me," Kairi whispered rather seductively. She enjoyed the powerful effect she had on Sora. The Keybearer, in return, thought it was just plain cruel to torture him like so. _

"_One day, I'm going to ravish you from the inside out," Sora groaned on top of Kairi's lips, "and then…then you won't be teasing me like this…" he whispered touching the girl's side slightly._

"_What will I be doing?"_

_Kairi batted her eyelashes ingenuously, though her tone of voice was anything but. The comment nearly drove Sora to do something quite indecent inside of his clothing, but at this point he was used to restraining himself. He let his tongue trace over her teeth prompting the girl to squirm with glee. _

"_Oh my sweet princess, you will be begging for me,"_

"_The princess begging for her hero? Well, aren't you original Sora," _

_He continued to deepen the kiss. "At that point, originality will be the farthest thing from my mind, Kai," Sora whispered looking intently at her beautiful figure._

"_Hmm, sounds nice Sora," Kairi replied as he loosened the grip on her arms. Sora snuggled with the girl as they closed their eyes; the brunette was purely just listening to the soft sound of their breathing._

"_It will be nice," he promised her, "because then I'll be married to you…"_

"_OH GOD! YES! YES! MOREEEEEE!"_

_The two broke out into laughter once more, possibly even louder than the last time. Kairi winked at her boyfriend and he responded with a devilish grin of his own._

"_Oh Sora!" Kairi shouted, trying not to chuckle while doing so._

"_God Kairi! Oh God!" Sora continued adding on to their little trick._

"_You're SOOOO big, Sora!" _

_The comment made the all too innocent Keybearer blush as his girl immediately reddened after saying such a thing. He was about to have fun with this._

"_KAIRI!" he shouted, giving her a small tickle, "you're SOOOO tight."_

"_Oh yes! YES! SORA!"_

"_KAIRI!"_

_Hoots and hollers from right outside their door caused Sora and Kairi to try to hide their laughter into the pillows. "YEAH! SORA! YOU GO AHEAD AND GET SOME!"_

_Sora could barely contain himself as he held Kairi, tears spilling from the genuine joy he was experiencing. Both of them were certainly naive, no arguing that; however the two surprised themselves everyday with their teasing teetering the borderline. "You're something else, you know that?" he said with a kiss. _

"_Kind of," she whispered back leaning in for a deeper kiss, which Sora gladly returned._

"_I love you," Sora murmured, his heart nearly coming up out of his mouth to accompany the words._

_Kairi traced her finger along his cheek. "And I love you, Sora…" she answered flushing at his sweetness, "…I'll always love you."_

"_Always?"_

"_Always, always…"_

_

* * *

_

Sora found himself puking in the undergrowth outside of the tent. He was well more than sick to his stomach. Left to his thoughts most of the night, Sora's guilt over the incident with Alice was gnawing on his insides. He sniffled a bit as he wiped the disgusting remains from his mouth. No matter how many times he'd rid his body of the taste, Sora knew he'd in spite of everything feel absolutely ill when reminded of what happened.

"Fuck," he murmured painfully to no one. The brunette threw his head back, attempting to change into his clothes before Roxas discovered him still naked. Sora sighed; this was far from what he wanted. Admonishing himself, he cursed his carnal needs…feeling like some animal preying on a helpless, young girl.

His deep blue eyes trailed downwards to the spot where the act occurred. A prominent frown graced the face belonging to the disheartened man. "Kairi…" he whispered, his heart thumping rapidly.

**Pardon me for saying so, but you look more pitiful than I had ever imagined.**

The Keybearer shot his head up with an unquenchable amount of culpability. A sad expression accompanied by him clutching his heart signified this far better than any spoken words. "Don't do this to me now, Kai," he pleaded.

**I always thought you would be some sort of match for me.**

"Kairi," Sora gritted his teeth. He finished putting on his shirt and jacket trying to ignore the incessant cruel remarks being made inside of his head.

"Sora?"

The Keyblade Master turned his head to see Roxas stepping out of his tent, yawning and still in his pajamas. "You okay?" he asked blinking curiously.

Sora sighed. "Yeah Rox, it's nothing…" he said looking away. He refused to make eye contact out of shame.

"You sure? Did you have another nightmare?"

"Sort of…"

"Do you want to talk…?"

"No!" Sora answered with a rather impressive animated tone. Roxas nudged the other man slightly.

"Alright, I understand," he began, "but I hope you know you're always welcomed to talk to me about this."

"Hmm," the brunette started to walk away. "I'm just going to take a quick hike, watch over Alice for me will you?" Sora requested fading from Roxas' vantage point.

"Er, sure but," Roxas didn't even bother finishing as Sora had already turned the corner. He sighed. "Sora," he murmured under his breath.

The Keyblade Master proceeded to make his way down the twisting path that was covered in blood and decadence. He lifted his nose in disgust at the grotesque nature of the place. Wonderland had truly become a ravaged place; putrid and vile and grim. Surely, this wasn't what would be considered the greatest of locations to ease one's troubled mind, yet, Sora had little choice. Left alone to his thoughts, the Keybearer tried to deal with both grief and guilt…two of the worst emotions to have to experience.

"Why so troubled, young master?"

Sora's blue eyes shot up as he drew his keyblade just as quickly. "Who's there?" Sora snarled turning back and forth, trying to take in his surroundings.

"Temper, temper," the voice repeated and soon enough, a familiar creature appeared. The Cheshire Cat grinned widely yet something about him was terribly off. Once a plump, purple striped feline, the lover of riddles was now an emaciated and boney figure. Sora nearly recoiled at seeing the jokester look so drastically different.

"Cheshire?" he muttered confused.

"Oh yes, I look quite different don't I?" the cat joked flipping upside down in the air.

"Uh…" Sora couldn't even formulate a response.

"I've lost a bit of weight as you can tell," Cheshire continued jovially, "makes it a bit easier to float around you see!"

Sora still stood mouth agape. "Cheshire," he tried to begin, "what's…?"

"Ah yes, some different types of shadows have run amuck,"

"Obviously, but I mean…?"

"Alice needs to defeat these shadows herself this time, young master,"

"She said that, but that isn't what I…"

"You know, I really think black is your color!"

"Hang on! Just let me speak," Sora shouted interrupting. He cocked his head back. "I need to ask you a question," the brunette stated.

"Well ask and you may or may not receive," the Cheshire Cat responded.

A pulsing vein started to throb above Sora's brow. "Please leave your riddles out of this," he requested in a telling manner.

"What are riddles but the answer told a stranger way?"

"Believe me I am far from being in the mood for that today,"

"I sense your shadow has grown since our last encounter,"

The statement made Sora's cobalt eyes shoot up in wonder. He tried to steady his shaking hand. "Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" the Keyblade Master asked nervously.

Cheshire smirked. "Really now…so many questions? My, my…aren't you a curious little devil!"

"LISTEN!" Sora yelled, extending his keyblade towards the skeletal-like cat.

Taking a large gulp, the jokester caught wind of Sora's wrath. "Pardon my rudeness, young master," the cat apologized doing a mock bow, "I was only observing your drastic change. Think nothing of my comments…"

Sighing, Sora retracted his weapon prompting Cheshire to wipe some sweat off of his boney forehead. "Now," the brunette began again in a harsh manner, "can you answer a few of my questions or not?"

"Really, and I mean no teasing in this next phrase, that depends on the question!"

The Keybearer was tempted to pull out his weapon once more but could tell that the cat was being serious. "Look, some of my friends said they had made contact with Alice but she said there was no such attempt made with her," Sora continued to speak.

"Ah, so you are wondering if your friends are liars or if Alice is one…correct?" Cheshire mused amusingly.

"Not at all!" Sora replied rather aggressively.

Cheshire smirked. "Did I strike some sort of chord young master?" he questioned grinning.

Sora parted his lips slowly. "Not at all," he repeated almost too quietly to make out.

The playful cat raised his eyebrow, stretching the sordid skin that looked as if it could peel off at any second. "I do know of something that perhaps could help you," he added.

"And what would that be?"

A gleeful grin appeared once more on the face of the Cheshire. "There's a laboratory not too far from here, and its resident tends to perform some…experiments,"

The Keyblade Master placed his hand to his chin. "How does that help?" he wondered.

"Oh, he's an old friend of Alice's…I'm sure he'd be able to answer a few questions,"

"Huh,"

"Or, you could ignore this suggestion and pace drudgingly about for hours upon end, but I'm guessing that doesn't happen to be of interest to you?"

Sora sighed. "No…" he confessed looking down. He shook his head. "One more question, Cheshire,"

"And that is…?"

"Do you know anything about a group bent on eliminating the Princesses of Hearts?"

The cat's pointy ears perked up. "Say now, that _is _an interesting question," he mused aloud, "why ever would such a dark desire bloom in someone's heart?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out…" Sora responded quietly, still staring at the ground.

"Hmm," Cheshire purred, "I can't say I have master. Truly sorry about that!"

"…oh," Sora sadly replied back.

The purple feline floated over to the Keybearer and circled his head. "Searching for answers with no results is indeed frustrating," he said complacently, irking the brunette.

"Do your words have a point?"

"They always do, young master…"

"Then get on with it!"

Cheshire paused himself directly in front of Sora's face. "Are you searching for the answer to an unanswerable question?" he posed.

Sora titled his head. "What are you…?"

"You said your question was about this group…but I have a feeling you really are dying to ask something else!" Cheshire grinned widely.

"Hmm," Sora huffed turning to the side, "since you _apparently _have all the answers why don't you tell me?"

"…I think you're biggest concern at the moment is wondering whether or not she'll forgive you,"

The Keyblade Master immediately faced the cat once more his eyes wide and filled with concerned. "What…what did you just say?" the brunette asked warily.

"She's a Princess of Heart; of course she'll forgive you!"

"Answer me straight, Cheshire!"

"No darkness in them, no…none at all…"

"CHESHIRE!"

The cat floated up getting ready to dematerialize. "She's already forgiven you, master," he stated starting to dissolve, "and I'm not speaking about Alice…"

"Wait!" Sora shouted reaching towards the jester, but to no avail. Cheshire already disappeared with his grin being the last part of him to go. The Keybearer groaned in frustration. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. He stopped his movements for a moment to reflect on what the cat had just said to him. "_How could he…he couldn't have been talking about Kairi?" _Sora thought to himself. The man angrily kicked the earth beneath him. Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the sparkling diamond ring he had given to Kairi nearly two weeks prior. It was the first time since the funeral he decided to look at the piece of jewelry. The Keyblade Master turned it slightly, sighing while doing so. "Kairi…" he whispered to the dazzling gem. Sora thought he was going crazy as he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of Kairi's smile within the diamond. He shook his head and immediately returned the stone from whence it came.

"Guess we're headed to the Mad Hatter's laboratory," the blue eyed hero muttered heading back to the campsite.

Avon slinked out of his bed quietly as to not wake Maven who was sleeping after their little rendezvous. He ran his fingers through his auburn waves as he smirked at the woman in his bed. It had been a good little romp, he mused to himself.

The enigmatic leader slowly dressed his well-sculpted figure and exited quietly from the room. As Avon made his way down the extravagant hall in his castle, he found himself deep in thought.

Being the head of this group he started, Avon was one to be respected, which usually meant being feared. He was a descendent of royalty; he thought he was impervious to any sort of punishment. Avon was told his whole life that he was part of a great line of Keyblade Wielders yet, never had the opportunity himself to experience the thrill of the blade. Because of the pact the Princesses of Heart came up with, Avon and the rest of his comrades were unable to achieve the greatness they sought. For a power hungry man like himself, this was far from acceptable.

After painstakingly researching his options, Avon discovered that if he and his brethren were to eliminate the current Princesses of Heart then it should undo the seal that prevented them from obtaining their Keyblades. However, this was not a guarantee by any means…merely speculation.

Yet, Avon still found no problem with the outcome of his actions. If they got their blades then it was mission accomplished. If not, Avon could live with the fact that seven innocent princesses had died by his command.

That was the type of man Avon was.

Before entering Gavon's laboratory, the dark leader noticed a servant was mopping the floor. As the low-class worker tried to avoid eye-contact, Avon kicked the bucket of water he had been using to clean.

"Well, you've certainly made a mess of things haven't you?" the auburn man cruelly remarked.

The servant trembled as he tried to clean up the spill. "Ye-yes my Lord, I apologize," he whispered still not daring to look up into Avon's sinister eyes.

"You should make sure it doesn't happen again, slave,"

"It won't sire,"

Avon glared at the shaking servant once more before leaving the man to his overworked position. The man continued forward into the laboratory moments later. Slamming the door behind him, Avon caused the scientist in the room to jump up in surprise. A growl escaped Gavon's lips. "Damn it, Avon," he cursed tossing a tube across towards his leader, who swiftly dodge the object.

"Oh come now, Gavon," the auburn hair man teased, "you shouldn't be so worked up…"

"How can I _not _be when you're acting like a slave driver to us all?" Gavon muttered angrily. "Honestly, I am shut up in this dark room for days upon end only to know that you're too busy lazing around and fucking your concubine!"

Gavon was probably the smartest man in their group, which was why he was given so many scientific tasks in the first place. Yet, despite his glowing intelligence, Avon still had a tight hold over him physically, as he did with the rest of the members. Normally, Gavon would keep his mouth shut but he was getting increasingly irritated with Avon's seemingly lack of work.

"Are you just jealous that I'm enjoying the pleasures of the flesh while you're making love to your test tubes?"

"You know I'm sick and tired of being stuck in this damn room!"

Avon smirked. Under different circumstances he'd punish Gavon for his little outburst, but he was in a good mood that day. "Well today you've certainly hit the jackpot," Avon began, "I'm letting you go on a little field trip with Vulcan."

The slinky scientist raised a silver eyebrow as his piercing blue eyes gleamed. "Oh?" he inquired curiously.

"I want you to pay a visit to that one relative in Wonderland…Hatter is it? He's been doing some favors for me and I want you to see if he'll let us use his services some more,"

"You know as well as I do he's bananas,"

"All the more reason for _you _to help Vulcan convince him,"

"But Avon,"

"This is an order Gavon," Avon said gravely. Gavon backed off as his superior's gaze darkened. He turned to the side with a wave of his hand.

"Fine then," he murmured aloud, "I'll go with your precious assassin and see what I can convince the madman of."

Avon nodded as he acknowledged the scientist. "Thank you for your cooperation, Gavon," he said as the other man snorted.

"Oh gladly, my Lord," Gavon replied sarcastically. When Avon slipped out of the door, he muttered angrily to himself as he started to pack his things for the trip that lied ahead.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the castle, Vulcan bravely slipped into his master's chambers. Normally, he wouldn't dare travel to places he wasn't welcomed…but he wanted to see his sister before he left. "Maven?" Vulcan whispered looking for the girl. A rustle beneath the beautiful, detailed bed sheets gave him reason to believe Maven was hiding underneath. "Maven," Vulcan repeated slightly tapping the girl. The ebony haired girl grumbled.

"Let me sleep…"

"Maven, come now, it's barely the afternoon!"

"Sleeping helps me forget…"

Vulcan pulled back at his sister's words as a frown appeared on his usually expressionless face. "Maven," his whispered again, except this time his tone was much more pained.

Maven rose up from the bed, clutching the sheets obviously covering a body that was bare. "Don't worry about me brother," she instructed with a weak smile.

"You know I do," Vulcan confessed.

The dark eyed girl used her free hand to caress her brother's cheek. "I can handle myself…I can handle him," Maven promised.

"You shouldn't have to,"

"I don't have a choice,"

"Damn it Maven, yes you _do_!" Vulcan shouted getting up. His force surprised the younger girl as she recoiled a bit. The assassin shook his head. "I got into this to help you get out, Maven," Vulcan mumbled gently.

The girl shifted uncomfortably. "I wish you didn't…look what you're doing, Vulcan!"

Vulcan sneered. "I couldn't give two shits about those girls," he confessed. Maven's lips allowed gravity to pull them downwards.

"That's exactly why it worries me so," she said softly, "that you don't even care."

"I care about one thing and that's you," Vulcan replied, placing his hand on Maven's shoulder. The action allowed a small smile to overtake the girl's solemn expression.

"Still," she began, "someone must care about those princesses just as much as you care for me," Maven commented poignantly.

Her older brother shied away once more. Maybe because he was experiencing some guilt from his actions or that Maven's words were just merely an annoyance. He cracked his knuckles. "I'd best be going now, sister. I just wanted to say goodbye before doing so," Vulcan said as he headed towards the doorway.

"Wait, Vulcan…"

The man turned and asked, "yes?"

Maven frowned as her attention turned to her hands playing with the sheets. "Vulcan," she began again, "you know you don't have to do those awful things."

Vulcan snorted a bit. "Yeah, sure," he muttered quietly as he exited the room leaving Maven all alone.

The girl tucked some messy strands of hair behind her ear. "You really don't," she whispered to no one, wishing her words could've reached her brother.

While making his way down the extravagant hallway, Vulcan's attention was caught by a man in a white lab coat coming towards him. "Ah, Vulcan!" Gavon exclaimed catching up to the assassin. Vulcan was a good half foot taller, and made up of many more muscles than the lanky scientist. If the roles were reversed, Gavon wouldn't last a minute against the stronger man, yet that wasn't the case. Despite Vulcan's superior power, he was submissive to all of the group's whims and desires.

"Yes, Gavon?" he unenthusiastically replied.

"I'm told we're both going to be paying a trip to Wonderland."

"Is that so?"

"You didn't receive the orders?"

Vulcan rolled his eyes. He felt so above his superiors but couldn't do anything about his low position. "No I received them, Gavon…I was merely being sarcastic," he added with little interest.

Gavon stifled a chuckle. "Now Vulcan, don't put your sour state on me. I'll feel bad if you do!" the man exclaimed irking his subordinate. Clearing his throat, Gavon continued. "Very well then," he said as he opened a dark portal, "shall we commence?"

A sigh escaped the assassin's lips. "I suppose if we must…" Vulcan retorted as he stepped through the threshold. Gavon smirked as he quickly followed suit.

* * *

"Well, this is it…I think,"

Alice sounded unsure as the three of them stood outside a dark, dismal manor. Roxas could feel a chill up his spine as he heard a wolf howl in the background. He gulped as Sora clenched his fist. "So," the brunette began, "this is where the Hatter lives?"

The princess brought a finger to her chin. "I believe so," she confirmed. She twitched her nose slightly. "Though, it has been a while," Alice confessed.

"It doesn't even look occupied," Roxas muttered, taking note of the unkempt nature of the place.

"But it's worth a shot to go in and look for ourselves," Sora replied.

"I don't know…" the Nobody replied wearily, "what if it isn't safe?"

The two heard a doorbell ringing and noticed that Alice had already gone up ahead to press the device. "No rewards without any risks, gentlemen," she spoke back with a small wink. The two Keybearers looked at each other and back at the blonde beauty. She was full of surprises. Roxas took this moment while Alice was occupied elsewhere to pull Sora to the side.

"I have to ask you something," he whispered.

"What now?"

"Yes, now! It's important,"

"What is it Roxas?"

"It's about…you…and Alice,"

Sora's expression intensified after Roxas spoke those words. "What do you mean?" Sora said naively. His Nobody was not amused.

"C'mon," he started out saying, "when you came back from the hike you two barely made eye contact with one another and yesterday you were ogling her from behind!"

"So were you!" Sora practically yelled. The two men thought their harsh tones would've caused Alice to turn around, but she was still patiently waiting for the door to open. The brunette sighed. "Nothing happened Roxas," he insisted, "she was just having a nightmare last night and I offered to stay with her."

"You _slept _with her?"

"Not like that…"

"Then why are you starting to twitch, Sora? You're not telling me something!"

"Look!" Sora shouted, still rather quietly as not to alert the princess. "Now's not the time, if you want a story I'll tell it later…but could we PLEASE just stick to the mission at hand right now?"

Roxas' face softened as he saw Sora flare up. "Just," the blonde sighed. "Just making sure you're not involving yourself in dangerous behaviors, Sor…it wouldn't be good for you."

"Who are you my mother?" the blue eyed man replied annoyed. Roxas didn't have a chance to answer him back as both men heard the creaking of a door. It was pitch black beyond a few feet inside and the two saw Alice quickly dip in.

"Alice!" they shouted in unison. Sora groaned as he ran in after her. Luckily, he met up with the girl in the darkness before anything happened to her. The Keybearer swiftly grabbed her arm. "What were you thinking?" he demanded.

"Well I was _thinking _that I'd go inside as the door opened, Sora!" Alice responded with firmness.

Roxas huffed as he joined the two staring at each other intently, or so he assumed; it was too dark to be able to tell. "Quit it guys," he said releasing Sora's hand from Alice's form. "We need to find your friend, Alice," he continued.

An eerie laugh from down the long, narrow hall sent shivers down all three of their spines. Roxas' face grew an even lighter shade of pale. "Er, would I be correct to assume that's him?" he asked quietly, his voice cracking a bit.

Alice shook as another chilling sensation made its way through her body. "I-I believe so," she said nervously. Sora drew out his keyblade in a quick manner.

"Might as well be prepared for anything," he whispered leading the other two slowly down the dark passage.

"Hmm, preparation seems so…boring!" a voice boomed over what seemed to be a loudspeaker. All three heroes jumped as the lights went on suddenly along with the announcement.

"Who are you?" Roxas asked flashing his own keyblade out now. He and Sora made sure to crowd around Alice for protection.

A dark giggle emitted through the speakers. "My dear boy, _I _am the proprietor of this laboratory, and _you _all are now in the middle of an experiment!" the voice answered.

Alice's ears perked up. "Hatter?" she questioned frantically, "oh Hatter is it you?"

"Alice, darling! So good to hear your voice. Care for some tea?"

"Hatter!" she yelled. "What's going on in here?"

"Like I said, darling…an experiment of such wonderful magnitude!"

"What kind of an-?" Sora could barely finish the question as several boojums appeared out of nowhere. The Keyblade Master effectively sliced the several that were in front of him as did Roxas with the ones that were by the back. Alice dodged the few attempts stray boojums made for her head and Sora sliced them as they missed their target.

"Hatter!" Alice shouted again. "What is the meaning of this?" she screamed as she drew out her blade to defend herself.

Laughter filled the room as more creatures appeared. "My dear, dear Alice! I was just curious to see how your little pets worked. I'm even more curious to see how you'll react at this next stage of the experiment!"

Just as he said those words, a shadow passed over the three as it took the almost perfectly identical form of Alice. The heroes stood agape as the clone Alice emerged in front of their eyes. She wink and gave a thumbs up before drawing a similar blade out.

"Isn't she pretty? I was told to try to make my little puppet as indistinguishable as possible and I think I succeeded!" the Mad Hatter exclaimed over the loudspeakers.

"She looks…just like…" Alice couldn't finish her sentence.

"Your friends were so eager to get a hold of you somehow they must have mixed up my little puppet with you! How awful you never got the message!"

"Message?" Alice was more than confused by this point.

"So Leon and the others really did contact Alice," Roxas muttered under his breath.

Sora grunted. "Yeah, just the wrong one!"

"What message?" Alice demanded to know.

"That your life, my dear, must cease to be," another voice over the intercom added.

Alice gasped as Sora growled. "Vulcan! Show yourself!" he demanded angrily.

"All in good time, Master Sora," he replied. After his words were spoken the faux Alice lunged at the three as Sora and Roxas prevented her from striking the princess.

Vulcan backed off from the intercom as he gave it back to Hatter. He made his way over in the tiny room towards Gavon who was currently mixing some potions together. "Is that gas ready?" the assassin asked impatiently. His companion growled.

"It would be if Hatter knew anything about mixing chemicals properly!"

"Oh cousin, don't be so harsh! You know my laughing gas is chock full of chuckles!"

"Yes, chuckles and poison!" Gavon muttered angrily as he continued mixing.

"Here, allow me!" Hatter said as he added a blue liquid into the tube.

"NO YOU IDIOT LET ME WORK!"

"It's _my _recipe, Gavon! Let me!"

Vulcan rolled his eyes as the two buffoons, as he put it, were going back and forth between each other. It had been like that all day. Paying a visit to Hatter was a much different experience than expected. The crazed man was far more insane than Gavon remembered but at the same time, it made his cooperation easier to obtain since he was more susceptible to outside influences.

"If you two are done, then I'd like to emit that gas for our heroes to sample," Vulcan added with annoyance. His words were timely considering the two scientists were pulling the tube back and forth for the dominant hold. They paused their actions and set down the concoction on the table. Gavon huffed away as he opened a black threshold.

"Well, I suppose my work here is done anyhow," he muttered, "you two can take care of the rest I presume?"

A menacing chuckle from Hatter seem to be his personal answer whereas Vulcan merely nodded. "Don't bother yourself with the dirty work, Gavon…I'm sure Avon has other uses for you," the assassin quipped.

With his nose lifted in the air, the scientist replied with a small 'humph'. "Yes, it would appear to be so. However, the same can't be said for you now could it?" Gavon asked, but didn't stay long enough for Vulcan's reply. He immediately stepped into the portal leaving the Hatter still laughing and Vulcan fuming with a glare on his face.

"Damn scientist…" the latter man muttered.

"Ooh, this is getting interesting!" the Mad Hatter exclaimed turning his attention to the screen where he had been watching Sora and the others fend off the puppet Alice. Curious, Vulcan made his way over to observe the display as well. A small, insincere grin formed. Sora and Roxas made a good team as they took turns protecting Alice and fighting the imposter.

"Yes, very interesting," Vulcan remarked quietly.

Another giggle filled the room. "They certainly are strong…I can see why your boss was looking for some assistance," Hatter added.

"At the end of the day, their strength will diminish once more. It always does after they fail,"

"You're not talking about physical strength, are you?"

Vulcan shook his head. "No, no…the way to deal with these pestering Keybearers is to break them down little by little mentally. To fight them bodily would be tough to do, especially at the same time," he reasoned as exposed his cruel weapon, "even with this gift Avon has given me, it still would be difficult."

The Mad Hatter's eyes lit up at the intricate design of Vulcan's bludgeon. "Wherever did you get such a fine specimen?" he wondered.

"A present from my employer," Vulcan repeated, "he thought its ability to suspend motion would prove to be valuable for his assassin to use."

"I _must _have a closer look," Hatter muttered, transfixed on the weapon. His fingers extended excitedly towards it only to be halted by a flashing blue light. Moments later, the Mad Hatter found himself hoisted up in the air, suspended by the weapon itself.

"Don't even think about it," Vulcan stated staring the insane man down. A gulp and a nod from Hatter signified his understanding. The assassin rolled his eyes as he let the other man fall to the ground. "You're welcome to accompany me downstairs to release this gas," he continued to say. "Although, if you act up, it'll be to your own detriment. I'm sure Sora won't have any patience for a crazed fellow like yourself getting in his way,"

"My dear, new friend…what harm will a few chuckles do?"

Vulcan shook his head as the screen showed Roxas taking his Keyblade and knocking the faux Alice violently to the side. "Your puppet won't last much longer against those two," Vulcan noted to the Hatter, "we'd best be headed downstairs."

The two men slipped down a passage way headed towards the area were the heroes were. Sora dodged an attack by the puppet who hurled herself at his head. With a low growl escaping his lips, the Keyblade Master got up once more and swung at her from behind. The puppet grabbed the edge of his blade and used it to propel Sora to the side. While distracted in doing that, the faux Alice was oblivious to a double blitz attack from Roxas on one angle and Alice at the other. They were able to secure her by both arms as Sora got up slowly. Once settled, he launched his keyblade once more at the puppet as she was being held. The blow proved to be fatal as the fake toppled over face first into the floor. The brunette heaved heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Roxas wiped some sweat off of his face and Alice sighed in relief.

"Good thing that's over," Alice whispered.

More tired breaths came out of the exhausted Sora. "Not quite if Vulcan's involved," he murmured.

Alice's eyes got a sudden spark within them. "I had almost forgotten," she said, "what did that man mean, Sora?"

Roxas and Sora both shared sad glances as they paused momentarily before answering. "Alice…" the blonde Keybearer started to say, "…you're in a lot of danger."

"The Princesses of Heart are the target of some twisted plot. We hardly know the details but…" Sora paused himself once more, "all we know is that they want to kill you," he confessed to her.

The girl let out a small smile as some tears silently trailed down her cheeks. "Oh," she began, "I see."

"We should have told you," Roxas stated, almost shooting an angry look at Sora, "but we both thought it would be better to not have you worrying. We're here to protect you Alice, and we're not going to let them harm you!"

Alice wiped away her tears. "I think it was rather noble of you two to not want to have me worry," she responded, "but you said yourself I'm in danger. What are we to do?"

Sora placed his hand on her shoulder. "We're saving you that's what," he said in his normal Sora tone. The timbre of his voice brought back Alice happy memories of when she first met the eager fourteen year old version of the man. She trusted him then as she did now. A faint blush appeared on her face. Roxas felt incredibly awkward as Alice looked upon Sora admiringly. A cough from him prompted the two to separate.

"Let's hope you're right, Sora," Alice murmured still looking his way.

The brunette's gut stirred. Alice had told him she wouldn't feel anything after their little tryst, yet by the way she was looking at him, he was thinking otherwise. However, he didn't have time to dwell on such ideas. "We should probably get you out of here then, it'll be safer that way," Sora added taking her hand and heading to the door.

"Right," Alice agreed as she followed him. Roxas held up the rear as he still had his weapon out, waiting for any action to surprise them.

"Going somewhere?"

The three weren't able to make it out of the door as Vulcan appeared suddenly with Hatter at his side. In his hand was a pink potion that gleamed brightly. Roxas and Sora both let out angry grunts as their blades were raised. "Step _aside _Vulcan or else," Sora said darkly.

The assassin laughed. "Or else what, Keyblade Master? You're going to hurt me? Because you've done such a lovely job of that in the past," he teased.

"Don't react to that Sora," Roxas instructed staring Vulcan down. "That's what he wants you to do," he commented taking note of Sora's rising anger.

"You're a smart one, Nobody," Vulcan acknowledged. His attention turned to the blonde princess. "If you come with me now, Alice…this can be quick and painless," the assassin spoke delicately.

Alice shivered. "Hatter," she whimpered looking at her old friend, "why are you doing this?"

"Dearest Alice, Wonderland has been a much different place since you arrived," Hatter replied, "things might actually go back to normal if you're out of the way."

"Since when do you do anything normal!" Alice shouted uncharacteristically. "I'm trying to fix Wonderland, I really am!"

"Hmm, I guess, but you know this way has been much more amusing," the Mad Hatter said with a laugh.

"Stop laughing!" Sora shouted prompting the laughs to increase. His anger caused his brow to furrow and he was seconds away from charging at both men.

"Sora!" Roxas reminded his Other to stand down.

"You've reached the last part of this experiment," Vulcan commented holding up the bottle, "time to see the results…" and with that he smashed the bottle on the ground. He extended a mask to Hatter as Vulcan put one on himself. Emitting upwards from the ground was a foggy pink substance causing the three heroes to cough and get a bit woozy.

"What…what is this stuff?" Sora questioned feeling his himself tip back and forth.

"Just something to…help you lighten up!" the Mad Hatter laughed once more, and his annoying chuckles remained as the three soon were starting to black out on the floor.

"So-Sora," Alice murmured weakly before passing out. Roxas and Sora were seconds away from doing the same as they struggled to resist the gas.

"Just rest your heads masters," Vulcan chuckled through the mask, "you deserve some rest."

"Vulcan…" Sora feebly spat out. His vision turned cloudy as his eyes finally drooped down to close.

Roxas soon followed suit but not before uttering out, "you won't…you won't get away…with this."

Once he was passed out along with the other two, Vulcan bent down to his level. "I believe I just did, Nobody," he said with a dark smile. He hoisted the blonde over his shoulder as he turned to the Mad Hatter. "Do you have a place where we can put them?" he asked.

Hatter twiddled his thumbs excitedly. "Oh please, let us take them to my laboratory rooms…I'd like to conduct a few experiments if that's alright!"

Vulcan rolled his eyes, something he found himself doing numerous times that day. "I'm not here to idle around, I have a job to do," he insisted.

"I understand, however, I most interested in seeing how a Princess of Heart's heart looks," Hatter commented devilishly. The statement made Vulcan's eyes widened. A small smirk appeared on his lips.

"Hmm, well perhaps in the name of science I could delay myself a bit," he reasoned. His focused turned to the man on his shoulders. "Would I be able to put this one and his Other somewhere else? I can't have them waking up on us, you know."

"Certainly," the Mad Hatter chimed lifting Alice up. "Grab the Keybearer and I'll show you my labs," he said walking away with the princess in his arms.

Doing as he was told, Vulcan placed Sora on his shoulder as he followed the older man to a deeper part of his lair. He felt Sora shifting while doing so and knew the Keybearer wouldn't be asleep much longer. That's when Vulcan got another idea in his head. "_Maybe I'll conduct my own little experiment," _he mused to himself, "_I'm interested in seeing how this one would react to Hatter working on his friend's corpse."_

He smiled as a plan was being woven inside of his mind. Once they reached the basement, Vulcan noticed two separate rooms next to one another. As Alice was sprawled out onto the table in one room, Vulcan set Sora down in the corner as he placed Roxas in the other room alone. He turned to the Hatter before closing the door. "I'll stay in here with this one," he said.

"You're leaving the Keybearer?"

Vulcan smirked. "Just an experiment, Hatter. Have fun with the girl," the assassin started wickedly as he left the crazed man to his jollies. As Hatter started to turn on a drill, Sora shifted once more in the corner.

* * *

Roxas groaned as his eyes started to flutter open. He placed a hand to his throbbing head as he slowly inched up from where he had been passed out on the ground. "My head," he uttered in pain. His eyesight wasn't clear and seemed fuzzy. "What the hell happened?" the blonde wondered. When no answer came, Roxas realized he was now alone. "Sora? Alice?" he frantically called out. He moaned again as his head started to pound harder and harder, like a drum was being banged an inch away from him.

He rubbed the back of his head as his vision was slowly starting to appear less clouded. A distant giggle prompted the man to turn around frantically. A wave of panic hit Roxas. _No, _he thought to himself, _that couldn't be…_

Immediately, as he twisted his body one more, Roxas was transfixed on a glowing figure with flaxen waves. She was the only bright source in the darkness. He knew that figure inside and out, clothed and naked, every single fiber of her being…he knew _her. _

The blonde flashed an ingenuous smile. "Hello, Roxas," she chimed, much like the first time they met.

Roxas' knees gave way as he crashed down to the hard, white tiled floor. His heartbeat increased erratically to the point where it was easily heard in the silence.

"Na…Naminé?"

She calmly walked over to the Keybearer and placed her see-through hands over him. "You seem surprised to see me," the blonde purred into his ear.

"Of course I am!" Roxas shouted back, "You're…you're supposed to be…"

"Dead?" she cooed.

Roxas violently shook his head. "No, no, no…this is a trick," he snapped trying to pull away from her. Naminé frowned, her eyes watering up.

"Roxy…"

"Don't listen, don't listen…" _I shouldn't be able to hear you…_

"Roxy!" she wailed tugging roughly on his arm. Roxas painfully scrunched his face, tears forming in his eyes. _I shouldn't be able to feel you…_

"Naminé," he murmured, his hot cheeks turning redder by the second.

"Roxas," Naminé whispered clutching the man, "why won't you look at me? Don't you want me?"

The blonde male still had his head turned as his lover ran her fingers over his chest. "Don't you want to touch me? Hold me?"

"Naminé…"

"Love me?"

Roxas couldn't hold it in anymore; he started crying. "Please stop this," he begged shaking. He heaved sadly as more tears spilled down his cheeks.

He felt Naminé's lips on his neck and he shivered at the action. "Roxas," she purred sweetly.

"Go away," the blonde Keybearer murmured.

"But Roxas…"

"Go _away_!"

The Nobody surprised himself with the amount of force behind his quivering voice. His breaths steadied themselves as he bowed his head back down allowing water to drip from his eyes onto the floor. "Naminé," Roxas whispered pitifully.

"Fine," he heard her state, "I'll go if I'm such a bother to you, Roxas."

Roxas shot his face up immediately. He saw Naminé turn around and begin to walk away. "Wait!" he called out.

Naminé turned and shot him a very angry look…something that seemed so strange on her normally cheery visage. "Too late," she spat venomously. With a snap of her finger, she evaporated into thin air.

"WAIT!" Roxas yelled once more as he ran to where she once stood. He desperately felt the empty air, in hope that maybe some remnant of her figure still lingered. The blonde held back another sob when he realized his efforts were futile. His hand drooped to his side. "Naminé," he whispered.

"Well that was a wasted opportunity,"

A dark voice filled the room with those very words causing Roxas to snarl. He knew immediately who spoke that phrase. "A mirage, Vulcan…a trick. One that was set by you no doubt!" Roxas yelled into the dark room. Though it was still almost pitch black, he started to be able to see a bit clearer than before. The Nobody could barely make out Vulcan's looming form in the corner.

"Not my doing, unfortunately," Vulcan admitted with a wave of his hand, "that would be courtesy of the laughing gas you've inhaled."

"Laughing gas?"

"What…you didn't expect to enter the lair of the Mad Hatter and _not _be greeted with some ridiculous giggle inducing fit? I guess what they say about blondes is true; you certainly are dumb."

Roxas attempted to throw a punch at the man, but was still far too disoriented to be able to hit him. He wobbled and nearly fell over after exerting such force. "Whoa now," Vulcan commented leaning the other way, "wouldn't want to hurt yourself Master Roxas!"

"Screw you," the blonde stated weakly.

"Hmm, I'm a bit asexual for the time being, but thanks for being concerned about my libido."

"What are you doing here?"

"What I've _been _doing these last few days, you stupid Nobody…"

The Keybearer lifted his sharp blue eyes and stared Vulcan down. "…you don't mean?"

Vulcan just smirked as he opened a dark portal. "It sure is a hell of a lot easier when you two are knocked out," he laughed forebodingly.

"Vulcan!"

"See for yourself," Vulcan snapped his fingers, causing the lights to reappear, as he then slipped through the black threshold while Roxas was distracted by the sudden re-emergence of brightness. The flash confused Roxas' senses and he tried to adapt quickly. After a few blinks, the blonde was able to focus on the white tiled floor. His eyes widened as the creases of the overlay were slowly being filled with a dark red liquid. A sudden gasp emitted from the man as his tried to follow the source of the crimson. It was coming from underneath a door leading to another room. Hesitantly, the Nobody reached for the knob and entered in. Roxas could barely bring himself to gaze upon the starting place of the scarlet fluid. A prominent frown appeared on his already disparaged face.

He saw Alice covered in blood; her death certainly being the messiest of the princesses.

Queasiness started to overtake the man as he swore he could see some scatted appendages. Roxas soon realized that the bodily remnants did not belong to Alice. An eyebrow was raised as ice blue eyes traced the disgusting remains to a mutilated corpse. The Mad Hatter was lying in near pieces several feet away from the princess. Roxas brought his hand to his mouth; another sight was more grotesque.

Taking note of Sora's bloody keyblade next to the ground, Roxas finally let himself release his unsettled stomach. He collapsed in disgust as he saw the brunette calmly wipe off his weapon, (the normally clean blade that was now caked in blood and brain matter), and pay no attention to the other man. Staring intently at his hands, yet severely spaced out all the same, Sora began to murmur to himself.

"He kept laughing," he whispered.

Roxas was getting teary eyed once more. "Wha-?" he couldn't even formulate a response.

"He kept laughing," Sora repeated, "…it wasn't funny."

The Nobody glimpsed towards the dead scientist once more and then back at Sora. His Other's distant look signified that he must have still been affected by the laughing gas they inhaled. Roxas' lip shook back and forth. "Sora," he mumbled, his voice unsteady.

Sora ignored Roxas and began to walk over to Alice's dead body. By now, the pool of blood she was lying in had stained her hair red. He saw Sora stroke her chin, then cheek, until he made his way into her freshly dyed do. "Sora," Roxas repeated, tears spilling again.

The brunette chuckled nervously, an obvious effect of the gas. "Kairi's always had really pretty red hair, don't 'cha think Roxy?" Sora said in a rather creepy tone.

Roxas couldn't contain himself anymore and vomited yet again on the alabaster tile. He kept dry heaving afterwards as he crawled desperately to a corner to bury himself in. The blonde couldn't bear to look on as Sora kept stroking the deceased royal. He tried to block out Sora's disturbing voice but failed miserably. The Nobody continued to cry as he brought himself to a fetal position.

"Kairi," he heard Sora coo, "red's really your color."

The Nobody rarely prayed, but he brought his hands together and begged the Gods to spare him and Sora from the torture they had been forced to endure.

He was just hoping that if they were they, they'd be listening.

* * *

WAAAHHHH so much angst! Haha I wish I could say it lets up but honestly I'm not through yet torturing our beloved twosome. I can hear you guys in the background going DAMMIT SONCHAN! IMMA CUT A BITCH.

Please don't; even female dogs deserve to be loved :3 Hahah so stay tuned!

I hope everyone was able to follow the shifts in the scene perspectives. Sorry if it was confusing, I was trying a different writing style out hahah. If you have any questions on what happened let me know and I'll try to explain it in a PM or come back and rewrite this later

**Next Chapter: **Furious, Sora heads towards the Underworld to try to work something out with Hades. However, Riku and Cloud are already there and have discovered that it's not as simple to bring someone back from the dead as it is to get rid of them.

I can't even begin to thank my many reviewers. Seriously, I love you guys. You have been so kind and helpful to me it means the world! I adore you all and everyone's wonderful comments.

Love,  
SonChan

PS: "Playing with Fire" (Acoustic) by Emery. Look it up! Also, "9 Crimes" by Damien Rice seems to fit this chapter well!


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